Yes Jetblue pays a good bit less than its peers, however qol and pay is still higher there than for folks working at the regionals and part 91/135 etc.

It's a matter of prospective. If those other folk can invest time and money into the pursuit of a career at an airline with better pay, work rules and retirement benefits so can someone at Jetblue. If they don't it's a matter of complacency.

Let's face it, if you're not actively trying to get on with a better job, you're happy enough where you are. Management knows this and will exploit it to the maximum extent they can, by stringing the group along making minimal progress on a CBA until they run out of ways to optimize pilot productivity per dollar and they start feeling the strain.

JetBlue only has to keep the pilot group happy enough to staff flights and prevent a mass exodus. Judging by how often someone says they're "waiting to see how the new CBA turns out..." they're succeeding in their goals.