How We Ruined Airline Jobs

They fought for seniority based pay with rules that any new hire, even one with years of experience, starts at the bottom of the pay scale.

So, there's no incentive to jump ship. You stay where you started. Less competition means the airlines have less incentive to raise pay for more senior crew.

They also fought for extending the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65. That meant more captains staying in place, holding back promotions for first officers.