Disinterested Third Party
I haven't had employers be bold enough to say I'd better violate a regulation or my training records will be used against me; my training records reflect what I did in training.
If I make a writeup in the airplane, I make a photocopy. If I have an issue, I keep a record of that issue. When I've talked to a crew scheduler who did attempt to pressure me to get less than minimum rest, count the last day I didn't fly as a day off (back-date a 1-in-7), exceed duty or flight limits, fly with less than adequate reserves, or other issues, I've pushed back. I've also kept detailed records regarding who said what, at what time, and the circumstances of the call.
As a union steward, I once had seven legs in a row with a check airman. I went most of the way around the globe with a check airman; only one leg was a formal line check. I caught up with the check airman in Hong Kong, went to lunch with him, and asked what was going on. He admitted that the chief pilot had sent him to me, and told him to find a reason to bust me on a checkride. I didn't get busted, only because as the check airman told me "I'm nobody's hatchet man." The check airman also allowed that he was given a list of people who were targeted by the chief pilot, and told to go after them, too.
There are two sides to every coin. Someone a few posts back said that there is no need for a union. I'm not a big fan of unions, but there are places in the regulation where big holes have been left that don't prescribe duty regulations, for example, and the only guidance or protection that the crews have is what the unions have negotiated (cargo 121 is a great example).
PRIA isn't a weapon. Those who might attempt to use it as such need to know that it cuts both ways.
I've had pages of writeups at the end of a trip, which put the airplane down for maintenance. A day later the airplane was released and my writeups disappeared. I was told that the company had no evidence of my writeups. Funny, I said, because I have photo copies of all of them right here. What did I intend to do with them, I was asked. That really depends on the company.
Cover yourself. Make sure to document, document, document. Union or not, it becomes important when dealing with the company, with the union, with legal counsel. When an employer was backdating 1-in-7's, the POI was supplied with several documents showing that the company identified days that I was on duty as days off. The POI shut that noise down in a big hurry. It won't happen without documentation.
When I've been asked to do something that I knew I should not do, I used my words. I used my favorite word. "No."
When a series of problems surfaced on a trip, I submitted a report. It was seventeen pages long. I didn't realize just what a storm it caused until I got back stateside, and ran into the chief pilot and assistant chief pilot who looked very unhappy, and were headed for ten days in afghanistan to handle the matter. It shouldn't have been a problem...if they'd operated correctly in the first place.
One can be silent and let things go, do all the things one ought not, or one can do what one knows is the correct, legal, professional thing. Personally, if it's not safe and legal, I'm not going.
Know the regulation. Know the chief legal counsel interpretations. Know what is on your side and what isn't. Know where the lines are really drawn. It's possible to make your point with some degree of diplomacy and still hold your ground, but in the end, don't ever take a job you're not willing to walk away from, and don't ever be unwilling to defend yourself and your position. Just make sure you know what it is and are on solid ground before you lower the white flag.