I am at a loss to understand what the issue is. If you work at Delta, you wear a hat when required. You work at Jet Blue you do not. Those are the rules the employer and the union has agreed on. If you don’t want to wear a hat, then don’t work at Delta. If the airline requires a degree? If you don’t have a degree then don’t apply, or take the opening that has been offered and go to a WO. Seems pretty simple to me.

BTW, I am in the freight business. Folk lore reads that Air Cargo is a very good indicator regarding near future passenger Airline business. As of the last couple of months, business is down sharply. I am flying a Chinese contract trip tomorrow. Empty from ORD to YQX and empty to ANC with another crew, then flying, empty to China. A year ago, normal was 200-250k payload and sometimes leaving freight on the ramp due to having additional fuel for contingencies. Hopefully, folk lore is wrong this time, or the US is exempt. The rest of the world is slowing down economically at this time.