Pay is still determined by union contracts. Companies don't care if they have the most qualified newhires, just that they have qualified newhires. No matter what the pay, companies will continue to pay low and fill seats. Union carriers are locked contractually into negotiated payrates. Non-union carriers have no incentive to pay more than the average union carrier. A $1 per hour raise is all a non-union carrier needs to do to stand out as higher paying compared to a union carrier.