The hat policy isn't only easy to change (if some effort is put into it), it saves the company money. Pay and qol take forever to change and, sure, are easily more important. You think mgmt. cares about your silly hats?

This is an easy thing to fix and, for better or worse, is a highly contentious issue. Just fix it. Most pilots would prefer to go optional. Almost all actually. How do I know.? Since the hat went optional at my airline, I've seen 3 guys wear it. All bald.