This is probably as bad as it gets for a union leader. He's in a fight with no allies.
They are trying to do an end-run around the union and go directly to the membership, ... They believe that what they're doing is acceptable to the membership, but not to the leadership.
The Machinists are saying, 'We're going to make a stand and make them respect us,' ... This is what the union strategy is as a Labor Day celebration of the power of labor.
It's a union that's been defeated, and they're trying to decide how they're going to be defeated.