Airlines tend to be unionized because fifty years ago, every major industry in the US was unionized. The large-scale shifts in the American economy in the 1970s and 1980s (less manufacturing, more services) accompanied changes in law, regulations, and public opinion that made it harder to organize unions.
Senior pilots make more than junior pilots because back when the government set routes and fares, the airlines collected higher-than-market revenues, which they could share with the pilots. After deregulation, the industry was no longer so profitable, and the pilots’ union compromised by protecting its existing members’ salaries while letting new pilots make less.
Senior pilots make more than junior pilots because back when the government set routes and fares, the airlines collected higher-than-market revenues, which they could share with the pilots. After deregulation, the industry was no longer so profitable, and the pilots’ union compromised by protecting its existing members’ salaries while letting new pilots make less.