Originally Posted by
da42pilot
We most certainly don’t get to decide what our careers are worth. If you know anything about this industry’s history, you would know that.
Ultimately, it’s the market who decides. And the market is composed by all pilots, all companies that employ pilots, and even the military. To name just the largest players. What all of these actors do, how many of them there are, and how many of them are needed, will decide how much bargaining power pilots have, which then will yield what this profession is worth in today’s market.
Management is going to negotiate in their best interest, just as pilots are going to do the same.
FYI we had a gluttony of pilots. But a gluttony of pilots, opposite of what you said, actually implies very low wages.
We decide what we are actually worth every time we vote for a contract. We can no more demand a certain level of compensation than the company can. Depending which side of the employee/management fence one sits on, our worth/cost is what we agree to.