As a dirty commie myself, I would love to agree with you but unions have shot themselves in the foot too many times this way. Unions themselves must take responsibility for their public reputation or they stand to disappear. Attorneys don't have that problem.

Who would join a union that won’t support its members? So you and up with a union that’s great for everyone who doesn’t need it?

>> Who would join a union that won’t support its members?

Me. I had many jobs where joining the union was "manditory". Whether it was the union at the universities where i studied or taught, or the union that runs the film industry in which i worked as a kid, there was no practical alternative. None of the unions of which I was forced to be a member ever represented my best interests.

Just how many crises akin to these pilots near-miss did you experience?

It's a contradiction. Thinking about it involves holding two conflicting thoughts in your mind at the same time. I can't change that. I'm just saying it's never been as simple as some like to pretend it is.

A defense attorney does in fact have duties that aren't in the client's best interest.

The court has rules. Each attorney's first duty is to uphold those rules, and the second duty is to argue for the client to the extent and in the manner those rules allow.

This seems quite similar to the process and rules that govern air traffic safety and its incremental improvement over the decades.