It may seem like it benefits the truly selfish in the short term, but once the Union goes away, they lose all the bribes they collected to buy their votes. Remember what red label is really supposed to be: three pilots staffing each airplane. Run it like a corporate flight department and fly it like a fractional. So those guys will have 4-6 days off a month. And don't forget what Kenn says in the first Roundtable video (at the 1:30 mark) about the airplanes needing to be available for 16 hours a day. Forget the 14 hour scheduled duty limit. Add 100% rolling rest and suddenly it's not much of a life for the truly selfish at that point.
Selfish in that when $$$ gets thrown someone’s way and they take it knowing they are stepping over someone with greater seniority. Like it or not, seniority seems to be the only workable solution for a large group of pilots. Seems to work very well at the airlines. There have been cases where some pilots pushed for things like being able to sell vacation (fly more for more $$$). While lucrative for a small group for a short term, it would ultimately hinder growth and hiring as the company could then do more with fewer. Then people would complain about growth and seat progression. In many cases, the union would prevent pilots from hurting themselves. With no
Union, who gets to upgrade? Who determines pay, qol, etc? Can you imagine an owners wife saying, son you really look tired. Should you be flying? I’m not sure, but I have bills to pay and can’t risk not flying when your husband explodes and asks for me to be fired.