Originally Posted by
BeatNavy
You’re missing a really big part of why unions are necessary for airlines. In every other profession, your skills and experience go with you. If company X isn’t paying you enough, you can go to company Y and you can start at or above your current pay and position. In the airline world, if after 5 or 10 years working at airline x, they aren’t paying enough, you can’t go to your same seat/longevity at airline Y. You are beneath even the most junior guy who started there before you. That, coupled with being held under the RLA which absolutely handcuffs us and works in management’s favor, requires unions to be able to negotiate and improve pay/QOL and fight to improve things where you are. Free market forces can’t work in the airline pilot world. Without union support, companies have a huge advantage on an uneven playing field.
To expand further on your post Navy, airlines don't pay based on merit or skill. Never have, never will.
We are Airbus part #1 and #2. Nothing more. We are a cost to be minimized as much as possible.
The airline doesn't offer to pay more for pilots who stay at cruise altitude an extra 5 miles on average to do a true idle-decent and save fuel. They don't offer to pay more for better landings. They don't offer to pay more to pilots who find 5% more logbook errors or catch 5% more relevant NOTAMS.
The only thing they care about is that you pass your check ride and move the aircraft from A to B on schedule. Well, in JBs case you are also expected to clean the plane, but again they won't pay you for that! Not even without a union!