So let me rephrase: Getting off IOE on your first airline job doesn't make you all-knowing about the industry. Its usually bad form to post threads about "How do I get to work from SLC to EWR" and one month later start lecturing people with 30 years in aviation and 18 years on a major airline how the business works.
So let's revisit Abe:
"Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." - A. Lincoln
So let me rephrase.
If you don't think that the regionals are affecting your pay scale, you're dead wrong. We've got kids younger than me flying in the left seat of 90 seat RJ's for less than your first officers are flying MD-80's for, then you're sorely mistaken. And let me assure you good sir, we will steal your flying. We will take your routes, we will do a better job and I can assure you that the kids I work with have more piss and vinegar and a will to succeed that is stronger than yours is. You can either work with us or you can take a giant dump on us like most mainline pilots have. You think that we don't affect you? How much would you give to put the RJ back in the bottle? Personally, I'd give a lot but then again, I want a real career.
You don't work in a bubble. You never have, and you never will. We're not flying Metroliners and Beech 99's anymore (which I, unlike most of my coworkers, actually have a check out in), and the region we're flying in encompasses the entire country.
And, just for your information, I'm making the commute from hell right now because it meant I was going to be at an ALPA carrier. I live in Salt Lake and could drive to work and work at Skywest right now, but I'm not interested. I've done the non union job, didn't care for it, left and went to the best carrier that I was qualified for with the strongest MEC around. It wasn't an accident, I planned it that way. In fact I refuse to apply to Skywest, Colgan or JetBlue.
But you wouldn't know that, because all you've seen is a smart ass 25 year old picking out something you might not have thought about. So instead of saying, "Huh, 90 seat RJ's...for not a lot of money...maybe he's right, it is bad!" you've decided to try to protect your ego and launch personal attacks against me.
That's fine, do what you want. But where most guys bitch and complain, I've put my money where my mouth is and gone after flying for a union carrier at the cost of an extremely stable freight job that would provide turbine PIC time MUCH faster than where I'm at. It's added stress to the relationship between me and my fiance. It has quite honestly been a huge pain in the butt in a lot of ways, but you know what? I said I'd go to a union carrier, said I WOULD NOT support working at ANOTHER non union carrier and did it.
Continue to attack if you'd like, I'm pretty secure with the choices I've made in my career so far, which is probably a tiny bit longer than you imagine it has been. I'm not some spikey haired RJ driver.