I posted this a few weeks ago over on the other site and I think it applies to this thread:
...pilots are their own worst enemy. However, it's not simply the fact that there are pilots who are willing to work for horrible wages. That is only part of the story. In my opinion, the major reason pilot's wages have decreased so dramatically is that pilots have a completely ineffective organized labor strategy. We have emasculated ourselves with our own narrow vision and shortsightedness.
We pilots have personally handed management the upper hand. Management is thrilled with the way we have hamstrung ourselves. We have devised an organized labor system where pilots have zero portability in our jobs once we have been employed more than a couple of years. At one of my previous airlines, an executive came and spoke to us. He reminded us of this very fact. He seemed to revel in it. He told us that if he loses his job, he can go to another company and make almost as much or even more money. He said that if a pilot loses his job, he has to start again from the bottom. When you think about it, it truly is insane. And, here's the kicker: we did it to ouselves!
For example, what real options did the NWA pilots have when they were recently threatening to strike? If the company shut down, all of the NWA pilots would have to start over from the bottom at some other airline or launch themselves from the beginning into some new career. On the other hand, management at NWA would have simply been forced to look for new jobs at other companies; jobs that would have paid in the ballpark of what they were making at NWA. They were not faced with having to start over. Who had the upper hand? Whose position was more precarious? The pilot group was not in the driver's seat and management knew it. The results speak for themselves. The same was true at United, Delta, Eastern, etc.
Today, building a successful pilot career is much more a matter of luck than anything else. If you're one of the lucky ones who manages to pick a growing, profitable airline that employs you until age 60, then all is well. But then, what if you were one of those guys who went to some airline where all was well and the future was bright. Ten years later, things have taken a nosedive. What do you do? What if you are one of the luckless many who is not able to divine the future? The effects can be devastating for you and your family. Our current union system leaves you with very few viable options. A member of management, conversely, who has realized that he is on a sinking corporate ship can abandon it with nowhere near the penalty that a pilot incurs for doing the same.
And we do this to ourselves? Insanity! This system may have worked well when our grandfathers and fathers flew. However, it is a fatally flawed system that is currently destroying our profession. We must adapt to today's realities. A union system that was designed for the realities of the 1950's and 60's does not serve us well today nearly half a century later. The airline industry's landscape has dramatically changed since then. However, the way we have decided to organize ourselves and fight the battles of today hasn't really changed. We are fighting today's battles with yesterday's weapons. Why? An army that tried to do that would be slaughtered as we are currently being slaughtered in terms of pay, work rules, quality of life, and prestige. Pilots must realize that we are all in this together. We must unify on a national level. We must come together and do what is best for all of us in the 21st century. It is time to put short sightedness behind us. Look at where it has gotten us.
I am convinced that all of what I said is completely true. For those who made comments suggesting that the idea of a national seniority list is stupid, then I have to ask how is our current system not stupid?
I acknowledge that there are problems with a national seniority list. However, I'm convinced that solutions can be formulated. I see three major problems with a national seniority list. The first is how to devise a system that does not cause companies to have incentive to discriminate against applicants with more longevity than other applicants. If the choice is between a person with 15 years longevity (higher cost) and another person with five years longevity (lower cost), then why would a company hire the guy with 15 years? Second, companies must be able to maintain discretion in their hiring processes. Corporate culture is an important part of a company's success. A company's desire to preserve it's culture through the hiring process is a legitimate need and should be respected. If the national seniority list penalizes companies for not hiring applicants who do not fit their culture, then it is unfair. Finally, a national seniority list must determine a fair and reasonable way to establish which date is used for establishing seniority. Simply using first date of hire at a 121 carrier is not reasonable. That would over-penalize military pilots who spent time serving their nation. Is that fair? It would also over-reward those pilots who latched onto the first 121 carrier they could find. In my opinion, some combination of testing, hours, and service at a major airline or at some level in the military (for example: aircraft commander or flight lead) could be used to establish the seniority date.
The above are the real problems that I see in a national seniority list. However, there are some issues that are not real problems or are simply red herrings. For example, how will companies, esp those in financial trouble, be able to afford the higher rates? This is fairly simple. The national seniority list could establish a floor for labor rates and companies would be free to raise them if they wanted to attract better talent. If labor becomes a fixed cost and not subject to a downward spiral, then airlines will learn to deal with it the same way that they do with other fixed costs like oil and airplane payments. Another example: a national seniority list will not work because pilots are too selfish to support it. Not if a pilot loses all seniority each time they start at a new carrier. That is a significant hit and is enough to satisfy even the most cold-hearted and smug pilots who stay put at their airline. It would also provide a powerful incentive to pilots to not jump haphazardly from one airline to another. Additionally, the national seniority would be recognized for the incredible power and leverage it would hand to pilots as a whole. This plays very much to the hearts of all selfish pilots. Pilots would realize that they truly could vote with their feet if things were going seriously downhill at their airline. Can we do that now?
The bottom line is that our current unionized seniority system is BROKEN. It does not work. I happen to be lucky enough to be employed at a very stable major airline right now. However, I'm not foolish enough to think that my luck couldn't turn. And that is what is really sad about what piloting as a career under our current seniority system has become...it's all about luck. That's it; luck. It does not allow you to make mistakes or adjust your career for changing circumstances. In fact, our seniority system can devastate you and your family if your luck runs out or if you weren't prescient enough to have nailed down all of the developments pertinent to and that might impact a piloting career over the typical 30-year span of said career.
The answer is to forge ahead with a new system; to adapt to the realities of the 21st century airline world. Yes, there are problems with a national seniority list but there are bigger problems with the way things currently are. We can find answers, and no, they won't be perfect answers. However, they will be better answers than the ones we've currently given ourselves.