So far there has been a lot of talk and wishing about higher pay rates, but have any of you organized to achieve this goal? A union will try to get higher wages for you before the market forces will, but you need to have a union representing you or work in a shop that will top union wages in order to keep their workers from organizing. It isn't easy to get a union in, and then it takes PARTICIPATION to keep it representing your interests. Some folks would rather just grouse and gripe about their conditions and never make an effort to change anything. I happen to like fixing aircraft and troubleshooting snotty problems, so I would prefer to stay in the field, rather than head for greener pastures. Other professions pay better than ours currently does, and we should do something about that. As I implied before, I think it is wonderful that airlines can afford the wages they pay pilots, since this means they can afford to pay me similarly, once they warm up to the concept.