As long as we have pilots who are willing to work for free, things will never change. We had pilots willing to pay for their own initial training back in the 1990's. Not only Comair, but a small US Airways Express carrier, CCAIR stood up to their respective management. What happened was everyone ran scared and took deep concessions after seeing this 200 pilot airline sacrificing themselves.
We are our own worst enemies and will continue to be until things change.
I remember one executive say "we can get 900's on the property and offer direct left seat entry for $475 a week and there still won't be a shortage of willing applicants." (Slightly edited)