Good post, I'm glad it's coming from someone who has been through it over the years.

Unfortunately, I think the unions are more the impediment than the solution. Real change won't happen until people stop entering the profession in favor of other career choices. The regional level has made some advances in terms of starting salaries via the use of hiring bonuses, but very little of this was due to any union involvement. The scarcity of a resource is what prompted the improvements. Some regional's ponied up, while other's are still a wait -and-see mentality and use programs to defray cost's (cadet, RTP, flow) than make any kind of long term improvement. Personally I think the unions work more in the favor of the airline than the pilot, via your dues to fund their management of us.

In a parallel universe I would love to see how airlines would function without the presence of unions. I have a feeling it would be much better for pilots.

2 cents