Brother.
It is well understood by now that there needs to be a mutual decision to reopen the contract.
Then, do you think members of Congress know about our issues on their own? No, it takes a legislative activist to take their own time and leave to visit their staffs and build relationships over years that pay off. For example, Sen Braun from IND introduced the ATC hiring bill due to the relationship building from controllers in IND. That bill was the reason the max hiring language is in FAA reauth. These things don’t happen over night.
To add legislation to your farm bill you need someone to advocate for it.
And lastly, the union is there to ensure the FAA operates how they should and makes them hire correctly, abides by the contract, etc.