is it logical or “fair”? No. Is it a measure of an individual’s merit? Certainly not. But it’s the way things are. Play the game, win good prizes. Or sit in the audience and know that Rod Roddy probably won’t call your name....

To be honest I don’t know if that has been added or not. I’m sure that if LCAL had a similar tradition it would be included into the existing one.

Remember, the new folks don’t care about legacy X.

There just United new hires.

Exactly..so get rid of all legacy symbols and affix the current logo on the ball because that is the legacy new hires care about.

I think the better metaphor is without a degree you're waiting for Rod to call you to come on down, but you never took the history class that covered that Mr. Roddy passed several years ago...

its not the degree itself that matters, otherwise they would want an aviation degree or something related. A lot of people that have issues with this hiring practice, usually people without degrees, keep focusing on pilot skill vs having a degree as if they are a linear comparison. The real reason HR wants to see it is that it shows that you have the ability, drive and/or desire to start, commit, and finish something with the goal of bettering yourself or your financial/personal life. And with a majority of legacy candidates having a degree, not having a degree when you apply shows HR you are lazy. It takes almost no effort nowadays to get an online degree. It shows you think you're too good/smart to get one, or you're just lazy.
being a good pilot is important, but anyone who's been through any aviation interview can tell you they don't focus on how great of a pilot you are, or how superb your hand to eye coordination is. Having a degree is more of a personality discriminator.
I used to hear this all the time when I was new in the military. In boot camp, new enlisted guys/gals were told over and over "the only difference between you and a butter bar is a college degree". While factually, thats partially correct, setting a goal, applying, saving up, committing to a degree, getting good grades, and finishing said degree shows maturity and dedication. Of course there are always outliers :)

I was fortunate enough to carry the ball for a week. I don't recall any UA logo on it. Just the 8.

Yup, in this context it means that you are willing to accomplish a useless task just because someone told you to.

And I say that as someone who did it.

The only things needed to fly part 121 are an ATP and a medical. Everything else is used to filter the thousands of applicants. People who say you don't need a degree to do the job are absolutely correct. But you need the degree to be competitive enough to get the job.

that’s what happens when you have idiots from HR take over the hiring

C'mon! There were and are exceptional exceptions. ;)