It's not so much how poorly you are treated. It's how long you are treated poorly. One thing or another has to give. Either you have crap QOL and pay is to the point where a normal person can pay their bills. Or the pay is crap and your QOL is flexible enough to do something else on the side or at least have a few days during the month to do what you want.

LASA is a place where your pay and QOL are pretty lame for an extra long time. Longer than most regional airlines. It's a unique scenario where the contract heavily weighs on favoring the most senior of the group. So no one leaves. I don't blame them. But if no one leaves, there is no movement into better QOL or pay.

So oddly enough it may be more beneficial to make your first move to a regional with a **** poor contract. You shouldn't plan to stay with the first job you get for the rest of your career. If the contract sucks no one wants to stay and you move off of reserve and into the left seat quicker. Not always the best way to do things but in this day in the industry it may be the new stepping stone way of doing things.