Yes this is a union / non union deal, but what is really putting fuel on the fire is longevity. Longevity affects all of us, and the carriers we work for.
Considering the destruction of longevity and the fact that CVG is likely to go junior, 18 year Comair pilots making over $110K with benefits will be replaced by SkyWest pilots making only 55 to 70% as much (talking round numbers).
Eventually longevity will catch every airline and the destruction of our careers (no matter where you are at) will be the result. The only solution is to organize and establish scope which prevents our replacement.
I agree the problem is longevity, but the solution is not scope. Every airline out there has some sort of scope clause and it hasn't really made much of a difference in the outsourcing. The only way to prevent outsourcing or the shifting of flying is to eliminate the cost advantage that one carrier has over another.
I experienced this at Air Wisconsin. We lost the United contract because Skywest, TSA, etc were able to underbid us. They were able to underbid because every airplane they acquired meant they could hire new employees at the bottom of the pay scale, which had the affect of lowering their average costs. AWAC, having an established fleet and crew cadre, could not do this.
One way to eliminate this advantage is to eliminate longevity based pay scales. Look at the pay rates for regionals. They start in the 55-60 range at year one, and increase to the 90-95 range at the top end. A 1st or 2nd year guy is earning almost half of the 15 or 18 year guy FOR DOING THE EXACT SAME JOB. You don't see that kind of spread in other industries, or even at the majors.These differences add up to a huge cost advantage for regionals that are able to bid on growth.
Eliminate longevity based pay scales, and you eliminate the cost advantage of shifting flying from one airline to another. The downside of this is that it it will not be a short term process to move to this kind of approach, and strong leadership with the vision to see it through will be needed.