thing is certain. We will all lose.

The union's decision last night to stage a strike involving all its members is the latest, and perhaps inevitable, escalation of what began as a dispute over one fired shop steward.

That it has reached this point, potentially bringing the whole Island to a standstill and wreaking havoc in the tourism industry, is a disaster. The damage already done in the past few days by pickets at the airport and the shut-down of public transport will be magnified one hundred-fold.

It is not clear how many members of the union will take part in today's action or if it will last longer than 24 hours. To call what is in effect a general strike when the Island is reeling from the worst recession in a half-century seems the most cavalier form of brinkmanship.

Whether members of the union, particularly those in the hotels, will answer a call which seems to have been made by a few hundred members remains to be seen.

The decision brings into question whether the union has any understanding of how Bermuda works. While it may believe it is justified in standing up for the rights of 15 of its members, surely some of its members must wonder at the price they -- and thousands of other Bermudians with no involvement in the dispute -- could be forced to pay.

It seems an extraordinarily high price when the union has always had what seems to be the most logical avenue for resolution -- the courts -- available.

Whatever happens, the issue remains, as it has since the beginning, whether rule of force or rule of law will prevail.

It goes without saying that almost all members of the union who participate will be acting illegally and in making this decision, the union has already placed itself in contempt of court, because it will be defying the injunction placed on Government employees issued on Monday.

It has been clear since the Haughton arbitration decision six months ago that if the union believed its 15 members at Bermuda Forwarders were unfairly dismissed, it should have sought a judgment in the courts, not in the street.

By the same token, we believe Government was correct to apply for injunctions against the union over the strikes by its employees.

So too were the Police on Monday. If they saw violations of the law at the airport, then they were justified in making the 15 arrests. The 15 must now be tried in a court, and found innocent or guilty following the due process of the law.

It is this principle, that there are laws which govern behaviour in the interests of all society, which needs to be upheld. Its importance must be brought home to all.