What often gets lost in these types of discussions is total compensation versus a pay check. What is better being a Teamster truck driver making $15 an hour with defined pension and zero cost health care versus being a 1099 driver making $20. Retirement, medical, per diem, and work rules all play a big part.

A lot of companies these days send out an annual total comp report to employees to highlight the fact that most get a lot more compensation than just wages.

In the case of a regional I think the only thing that would matter is who gets you 1000 of turbine PIC first. That delivers more lifetime earnings than anything else from what I can see.