Would that not also proliferate the number on non union carriers? If a company has a job opening and must hire from the top of the national list at the top end of the wage scale, that is a significant addition to the cost of labor. That would stagnate hiring at most companies. All the new entries into the labor market would not be hired for years being not on the list. That would force them into non union carriers for employment. Companies would farm even more jobs out to non union subsidiaries to reduce labor costs. Look at the UAW and the auto industry.
A better model would be the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and the other hollywood unions. There you can still hire entry level workers but you must pay union scale wages. If we formed a national guild or Professional Association we could set a national wage scale, ie if you want a 767 pilot, this is what it costs. There could be longevity based raises and bidding within each company.
It would give us more collective bargaining power because we would be negotiating a national contract with all carriers. Any job action would affect the entire system. (current law may prevent this, unfortunately.) Companies would like it because it would add some long term fixed cost stability to the labor market.
The old style union model i think is played out. Let's emulate a more successful labor union model. We must adapt to changing market forces. This is not a political statement, just an idea to discuss. I am new at this industry and until recently have been an outsider and this idea comes from that perspective. What do you more experience folks think?