I think you're right to some degree but honestly the flow is a carrot only if you treat it like one. I for one am treating it as something that's nice to have in the back pocket but won't stop me from getting out to the first major that will take me. It's also nice because it's creating attrition at the top of our seniority list, attrition amongst pilots that never would have left otherwise.
It would be interesting to see an airline like United try a different approach to this shortage by signing a hiring agreement with a competitor's contract regional, but honestly I don't think it will happen. I don't think anyone wants to start a war by poaching pilots from each other.