Go spend a few years riding the bottom of the seniority list at a regional with no growth at all, a 99% strike vote, a liberal NMB, and an ALPA MEC who constantly tells you "we're so close, we're so close, we're so close" with no results.

Then, after a decade of the above struggle, finally get a new contract and watch the CEO and VP take 66% of the company's cash on hand as "bonuses," after which your company promptly declares a sham bankruptcy and downgrades you to FO in JFK on a payscale capped at 4 years longevity. Lose your buddy passes, any hope of upgrading again in your lifetime, and essentially every gain your union fought for over the last decade.

Go through all of the above, and tell me it's not smarter to come to a low-paying regional with a fast upgrade time and new airplanes being delivered--in bases that are all relatively great places to live (i.e. not JFK).

Also, can you point to a single ALPA-represented regional that has inked a new contract with even marginal gains who has not suffered downsizing/fleet reductions/reduced upgrade times and/or bankruptcy within 5 years of signing? Find me one example of that in the last 10-15 years and I'll gladly re-consider my experience-based viewpoints on this topic.