Admission?
I know, I know.. if you work really hard, get your certificates and education, work really hard and become respected by both your peers and superiors to the point of which you become a manager or director that automatically means that you are part of an evil scheme that is only there to bring wrongdoing to all the goodness that unions bring aviation.
In my case I did all the right things and was placed in a position of responsibility because I understood how various componants of flight departments operated.
There is no "admission", it's something that just happened, and I'm content to say that I'm glad it happened. One thing is for sure though, through the roadmap of my career, I have seen things in this business that most haven't, and one of the most disgusting and aggravating things is when unions wreak havok to the inner workings of an otherwise normal carrier such as what is happening right now at Northwest. The safety issues are overwhelming.
You can tell me all the wonderful things that unions have done for you, and I'll equal them with everything unions have taken away from me as a direct result of their greed.
In management, you make efforts to mitigate risk, not add to it. You make every attempt to do what's right and become part of the solution and not part of the problem. Those who let unions speak for them don't have the courage to step into management, they would prefer to stay in the background and get rolled over by the mob mentality of union leadership. Every airline union I've ever seen has placed financial hardship on every carrier I've worked at due to high labor cost and ridiculous work rules. This forces the carrier to find other ways to cut and pay for the contract. Usually it goes to the quality of the non-union support workers, maintenance and internal support... In other words, all the things that make each flight safe everyday.
Admission? Damn right. If you ain't got the nuts to walk in the shoes of management to see what it's like on the other side, don't stand there and throw it out like it's something bad. Those of us that have walked those paths know how hard it is to hit that fine line balancing a CBA with the needs of safety and the financial health of a carrier. Go walk in them... if you dare.