Might be the case today, but I am sure in the past 25 years since 1983, DAL has paid for its pilots uniforms.
And I am sure a DAL pilot gets paid soft time unlike CAL. And I am sure a DAL pilot doesn't sleep in the crew room during severe wx ops. And I am sure a DAL pilots family members are covered on a company health plan the entire DAL pilots career.
RJ contracts are better than CAL's. And RJ pilots are more interested in a good contract than CAL.
Who wants to merge with CAL? Do you want to be lowered to CAL standards because that would be part of the deal? CAL has no standards.