When I was struggling to find flying work post CPL IR I did a plumbing course as it is a pretty lucrative, if not very glamorous, profession. Its not that hard being a plumber but it is pretty well paid.
The reason...
I thought this was brilliant! At the end of the course they tell you "this is the minimum hourly rate that the profession as a whole will charge. PLEASE don't charge below that amount to undercut the competition or else other plumbers will be forced to compete and the earning potential of everyone will be reduced". So as a result of this, the earning potential of plumbers still remains pretty high!
Now we, as supposedly intelligent pilots, will just clamber over one another to get jobs to the detriment of all else. It's not great it really isn't. However given the tough times and desperation, it is understandable and MOL and all airlines really will take advantage of you. As long as you know who you are. This is the only reason I can see to be part of a union no matter which one. There is no other benefit other than strength in numbers. But again this requires some selfless thought and an ability or desire to see the big picture cause being a part of a union is not free.
I always hope that when things pick up again and the number of jobs available increase and people have more options than Ryan they will move and seek employment elsewhere where they will be respected thus hindering Ryan's expansion. Ryan's "pay for your type rating" deal will be less attractive as people have other options so Ryan's ability to train new pilots quickly enough is reduced. Maybe then they will have to re think their offering and the tables will turn in favor of the pilot community once again.
Unfortunately the reality is, this won't happen. If Ryan is your first job you won't know any better plus people don't like change so when you are doing OK why move.
The result.....
We will never return to where we were before. Its just a fact. No point in discussing it anymore. Things change. At the end of the day it is survival of the fittest which includes us as pilots and airlines as entities. Money talks, end of.