... suddenly realize that they can trust neither side to support them. But you are correct. If I were one of them they'd probably have fed me to the fishes by now.
1) Nothing sudden about it. "The Lazy B" is a notoriously unpleasant place to work. Let's put it this way -- if you ever need a truckload of cynicism and negativity, you can just back 'er up to Boeing and get all you need for a nickel. That's probably at least part of why it was tough for the union to discern that this time the workers meant business. Frankly, it probably contributed to management's deaf ear when the union kept saying, basically, "stuff's gonna start falling out of the sky."
2) No, no "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes" ending for you. You'd fit right in. Once you are in the belly of the beast, the right to bitch and moan is part of your compensation package. It's kind of like family.
I get what you're saying, though, and I'm totally behind the workers "tossing their teddy out of the pram" on this one. If it results in some metaphorical beheadings at the top, but gets them their pensions, better salaries, and better working conditions, that's even better.
By the way, I haven't seen many dollar amounts published; starting pay at Boeing is minimum wage (about $15 in WA) until you qualify for union membership, then it is (presently) about $20 per hour for most positions. For a line worker, that can go all the way up to $29/hr. That is not Big Money in the Puget Sound area where even a fairly modest suburban house can approach $1,000,000.