Joe,
Yes, to some degree that is how it works. Some bankers went to work for Lehman Brothers and some went to work for Goldman. You live with the choices you make. It is not within a union's ability to equalize everyone, although they might try.
ALPA merger policy recognizes the status quo and seeks to preserve it to avoid windfalls.
Even you must admit a job at Gulfstream paying for BE1900 time is not the same as your job. Should a senior Gulfstream guy leap frog you?
Again, was he one of "those" Eastern pilots. There were a handful of them at ASA. If so, his career did not follow a typical path to say the least. In any event, I really do suggest you find another way of making your points without finding personal examples....
People could do the same to you and refrain from doing so... maybe there is something to that.