Reply #1: Sounds reasonable

[primavera]

I'm afraid I know very little about union structures, but it makes intuitive sense to me that there would be strength in numbers, so consolidating would seem to be a logical move. Isn't that esentially why unions form in the first place, on the principle that 1,000 workers carry more weight in negotiations with management than a single worker can? So why are the machinists all hot and bothered by this? No matter what compromises might go along with becoming part of a larger group, can they have any serious doubt that they'll be less than those associated with losing to the administration's campaign to restore feudalism and serfdom?