In years to come the history books will show the battle of Grangemouth ended in a humiliating and total defeat for the union side.
Last Monday, Unite’s troops sounded their battle cry after plant owners Ineos set out their less than palatable terms for peace.
By Wednesday the historic fight on the Forth was over and there was a clear victor.
The union had lost and its foot soldiers the workers whose livelihoods depended on the petrochemicals plant at the heart of Scotland’s largest industrial complex were left bloodied, bruised and battered.
So sound was the union’s beating that by Friday we had the extraordinary sight of workers who had so determinedly set out their stall against Ineos just days earlier cheering an 11th hour deal which saw their jobs saved but the terms and conditions of their employment torn up.
I think it is fair to say that in decades hence, Grangemouth will be seen as a seminal moment in industrial relations north of the border.
Unite put on its poker face, played its best hand and expected the cards to fall in its favour with the hubris of a card sharp at the tables of Las Vegas.
What Unite did not factor into the equation was Ineos having, or being prepared to play, the card up its sleeve.
But they did, and their decision to shut the petrochemicals plant was the trump card to end all trump cards.
The reaction was one of horror, shock, bewilderment and anger. In one single play, Ineos took the upper hand and Unite found itself chasing losses.
It was all too predictable from that point on that Ineos would get what it wanted all along: a freeze on pay and bonuses for workers, a radical reshaping of the site pension plan, investment from the Scottish Government and loan guarantees from Westminster.
The company even managed to get a better deal on feedstock pricing for the plant as the panic that followed the closure announcement took hold.
For Unite, looking back on what must be one of the worst weeks in its long and proud history in Scotland, there can be little source of comfort to cling to.
It was handed the mandate to negotiate over members’ livelihoods and was found wanting, its tactics seemingly from a bygone age.
For Pat Rafferty and his ilk in Unite’s senior team there is a huge amount of work to be done to regain the faith of the members whose livelihoods were put in jeopardy over a dispute which should never have reached the levels it did.
The union must take a long, hard look at it itself and be willing to modernise its practices as a result of the Grangemouth experience.
But, despite emerging victorious, Ineos must also shoulder a significant amount of the blame for a week in which dogma led to desolation and despair.
They were happy to play hard ball, happy to turn the screw when it suited them and happy to watch the union squirm as the pressure mounted.
Unite’s ultimate capitulation may have played well among Ineos’s select band of shareholders, who obviously could see a good deal on the table and were willing to hold out to get it.
But its hard-headed antics have done nothing to enhance its reputation either in Scotland, or on the world stage.
From an outside observer’s perspective, the battle for Grangemouth provoked shock, sadness, happiness, embarrassment, outrage and relief in equal measure.
Ultimately, it is fantastic news that Grangemouth is now on a more even keel and a long-term future has been secured for a workforce of tremendous skill and resilience.
But lessons must be learnt on all sides so that in future disputes do not snowball to such ridiculous levels that hundreds of jobs are imperilled and Scotland’s wider economic health is placed in jeopardy.