RJSaviator brings up a very good point.

Why such a wide disparity in pay compensation between a newhire pilot and a more senior line pilot?

Our industry has one of the widest compensation gaps compared to other professions. When you take into account starting FO pay at some majors is currently around 30-50K and the cap is around 100-120K, it is easy to see what a substantial difference exists for doing the same job.

I have always thought that pilots are, at times, there own worst enemy.

If a pilot has scrapped by on a measly 40K starting pay while slowly working his/her pay towards that 100K mark, do you think that pilot would be willing to take a pay cut in order to "level the playing field" between senior pilots and newhire compensation?

I would venture to guess, No, most pilots would not be willing to take that pay cut. I think the past airline pilot labor groups throughout the years has shown us that at times the senior pilots will look out for themselves while the bottom half of the seniority list is left to suffer.

I think these instances have been exploited by Frank Lorenzo management types that thrive on slicing up pilot group unity whenever they can.

Bottom line is, that the entire discussion about a senior pilot being able to move their compensation package from one company to another at will, is a silly debate. I'm sure that the closer one gets to retiring the better this notion becomes, but it is just not realistically feasible.

This is not to meant to be insensitive to that 55 year old forced into retirement mentioned a few pages back, but it is also not fair to push out an established pilot who has been at a company for sometime.

Pilots will always look at things from biased eyes, it's impossible not to. If something looks good, they will be for it, if it looks detrimental to their career, they will detest it.

National seniority list or not, you will never be able to force any company to hire a specific pilot. Each and every company reserves the right to hire who they please, and those companies will always hire the pilot who seems to be a balancing fit between expertise and cost.
Why would they pay more for something if they don't need to?

This is where we come in, and it is also where ALPA national has failed as an organization. There needs to be more stability and less volatility in the industry. While the airline industry is, by it's own nature, volatile and unforgiving to bad management, the pilot's compensation plays a pivotal role.

If we as pilots, continue to support and get behind a company that is doing nothing more then predator pricing there competitors out of business only to gain market share, we will forever be sentenced to ongoing volatility.

ACL, brought up the difference between us and doctors/lawyers, and I think the main difference is "professional courtesy" when it comes to setting their own individual rates. Furthermore, you will know very quickly when you are dealing with a experienced lawyer or doctor, but I doubt a passenger would ever know the difference between an experienced/inexperienced pilot from the back of a plane.