I believe twa voluntarily give up all their merger protections on their cba since thats was a condition of AA buying them and taking all pilots. what would have happen to nwa or delta or Polar Air argo with no union?im sure nothing good.
The TWA pilots did as you suggested because ALPA recommended--no let me rephrase that--insisted that the bankruptcy court would strip the TWA pilots of their entire contract. ALPA also insisted that "AA would walk" if the rights weren't given up.
The TWA pilots did not give up their statutory rights, however.
Perhaps you can see why the TWA pilots are in court with ALPA.