Hi 411.
Although I partly agree with what you say, you are missing a few things in your argument. It's not just pilots that think they are worth more, its generally everyone, and probably including you. However, we have to remember that part of the reason pilot pay has not kept pace with inflation in so many years has nothing to do with "a degredation of required skill" due to technology. The required skill is still there and built over many years. The primary reason is because of the career structure and imposed limitations a pilot must follow, and employers over the last 20 years have taken notice of this as a way to "extract" value from a pilots salary. For example, there is the seniority issue. If a pilot leaves a company, he generally has to start at the bottom of a seniority list again and forgo any time accumulated. So, companies now take advantage of this and keep salaries lower, as they have learned that they can as its unlikely a pilot will want to leave and start over somewhere. Conversely, in other professions, if an employer comes along and says "we're going to cut your salary by 20% because we are in tough times.. so sorry about that"... one can start to shop the market usually not moving very far at all, and move laterally without losing any amount of job status. Secondly, there are other tools used by Airlines as well, such as bonding and others like making pilots pay for the on the job training themselv'es. What I see, all too often is a manager's own arrogance. Many times a pilot will stand up for his value, but a manager would rather let a pilot go and spend the money on retraining a new one which can cost even more. In the end you pay the same, and you end up with more problems. This is an age old battle. This is why, even though its strife with problems, pilot solidarity is the only way to ensure fairness. I would bet this is an area you dispise just because it levels the playing feild for you.