I wouldn't say "better", maybe "different" would be a better choice. I also fly 135/91 and I have no desire to EVER fly for an airline (union or not)! I may work harder than you in the respect of loading bags, stocking the airplane, filing my own flight plans, and of course the dreaded lav, but it is often rewarded by nights in really nice hotels in locations other people would love to visit. I will be glad to empty the lav today knowing I will be sitting on the beach or in the mountains for the next two days living on the company money. I would very seldom call flying a plane "work". But like you said, you made your choice for a "different" lifestyle.
I would probably call myself an anti-union person. I can see where the unions were neccesary in the early stages of industrialization in America, but they served their purpose and have helped to develop federal work rules and standards, and I no longer feel a need for them nor have I heard many people brag about their union dues doing much beneficial for them, except for the folks at Ford who get union breaks every hour while they are being paid a ridiculous amount of money to drink coffee. That is just my $0.02.
That being said, I disagree with esa, I don't think there is any way for a reward (such as pay increase/upgrade/vacation/etc...) based on merit for a pilot. You can not use performance because there are too many variables out of the pilot's control such as weather, maintenance, ATC delays, waiting line for de-icing, in the airline world - time spent loading/inloading the plane (pax and cargo), in charter - pax/cargo even showing up on time, and so on. I agree that we have all flown with people that we don't know how they got in the seat, but until they screw up and crash or get busted violating some FAR, there is no way to put on paper why you are a better pilot than they are.