I would like to agree with you, however we currently have a sky full of mid 20-somethings flying RJ's all around the country and there have been few incidents blamed on low experience or long duty days. I think management is realizing that they can work us to the limits and then pay wages that are closer to a city bus driver and that there will still be a continuous line of new hires. I ask myself "why is it that an airline pilot can earn more than 100K/year"? Do we possess rare or difficult skills? Are we smarter than other professions? Is there a consumer difference between a 50K Captain and a 150K Captain? I don't think there are any valid arguments for keeping the pay up. In fact it seems to me that the trend over the past 10 years has been to bring pay and benefits down. Why wouldn't management wish to do that? I don't like to pay more for things either. The only reason that pilots can make more than 100K is that it has been the tradition and mind set, those things however are rapidly changing. Unions are dead. They are loosing any negotiating power they ever had. Northwest and Alaska Airlines Unions are trying to put up a fight but it seems that management is prepared to go to the carpet and are making plans to bring in cheaper replacement workers. It is only a matter of time before they figure out how to bring in replacement pilots as well. I think that in ten years unions will be gone. The real threat is the flood of low wage, low age workers fresh from the local community college with a head full of jetliner dreams. Every year there are thousands upon thousands of new pilots made to fill only a few positions. They don't even flinch at 18K for a first year. To me that is our real enemy.