I am surprised that nobody sees that the problem is that you have voluntarily left the free market, in that you embrace the seniority system, referred to elsewhere on this thread as "concrete wellies". Without this, pilots could come and go to jobs for which they are qualified, just like any other profession in the world of work, and the company would be forced to pay the going rate if they wanted to keep people. In fact you'd hardly need a union, though I don't suppose it would encourage thinking like this, because they want you to need them. Those concerned about earning less that their university friends might ask how many of them work in a unionised, seniority-based system.