Not that I am not sympathetic to your plight at Mesaba, but why would anyone there feel that they deserve to flow more than they already get?

There is nothing special about Mesaba pilots, you passed a regional airline interview and fly for a regional airline, and due to some probably shady business practices, you ended up owned by Delta. There are furloughed pilots everywhere, some a lot more accomplished than almost all Mesaba pilots.

I believe the newhire slots should go to those who interview and prove they are the best pilot for the job, rather than to those who simply negotiated for the job and never had to prove that they themselves are worthy of it.