A "Regional Airline Pilot Association" won't get regional pilots higher compensation - and anyone who thinks so is naive, viewing airline compensation through a myopic lens.

Regional pilots fly for regional airlines who get their work at the behest of their mainline partners. Like any business with subcontractors, the folks arranging the subcontracting want to secure the best deal for them financially - an optimal blend of low costs and high quality. Because of this, regional airline subcontractors typically get a guaranteed profit margin - but that margin is typically small.

If costs (such as labor) at regionals increase, those costs eat into the margin, making the subcontractor less financially attractive for their partner. Management of regional airlines have a fiduciary responsibility to keep those costs low, hence why they 1. fight tooth and nail against large increases in labor costs in negotiations and 2. love growth & attrition, because they both help keep costs low.

Don't get me wrong, regional airline pilots *are* underpaid in my opinion...but that won't be fully rectified as long as subcontractors & small Fee for Departure profit margins exists. Forming an RJ pilot-only union won't do anything to increase the paychecks of regional pilots any more than forming a mainline-only pilot union will help them recapture small jet scope.