There is a bottom line here. You (regional pilots) may not like it, but it's the reality of the situation. I was a regional guy for over seven years. The reason I left a regional to put myself on the bottom of a 7000+ (now 12000+) seniority list was because I didn't want to be a "contract" pilot. The reality is that the regionals provide a product to their customer (Delta, United, etc.). The customer makes the rules. Your company has basically been hired by Delta to provide a service. I wanted to work for the company that makes the rules and not the other way around. This IS the reality of the situation. You may not like it, but the regionals would not be in the position they are today without their customers (legacy carriers). It is what it is... I took the gamble to come to a major airline, and some pilots choose to chill out and hang at a contract carrier. I could have stayed at my regional carrier, but I don't want to put my career in that position. I knew the reality of the situation. From the day I got on at my regional, I knew I'd have to move on to a major to further my career and put myself in a good position. Will that change someday? Will the regionals be able to "write their own tickets" and rules? A couple have already tried and failed... Independence Air (ACA) and Expressjet are two that come to mind. Like it or not, the majors have control over their contractors. It's just the way it is.

As for seniority list integration, there's no way I'm going to let a regional pilot with two years of seniority jump in front of me at Delta! I've put in my time to get to this position... fifteen years of flying with half that at a regional to get where I am. I'm doing whatever it takes to secure this position I've earned... sorry.