Pros
SkyWest is known for being a "good, all-around" company. They are the largest regional airline in the US and have contracts with American, Delta, United and Alaska Airlines. This broad spectrum of contracts, aircraft, a variety of domiciles, and the fact it is a publicly traded company (so you can do your homework and read their profits), helps promote SkyWest as a trustworthy and stable airline; even in the absence of Union protection. SkyWest offers an employee stock purchase package, 401K, medical benefits, performance based bonuses and profit sharing (after 1 year employment). Current CRJ upgrade is around 2 years. Con: ... it is also this low at most other regionals now...
Cons
The obvious, pay. SkyWest was known for years as the highest paid regional airline in the US. With a change in management in 2016, this aggressive pay structure also changed. SkyWest is now one of the lowest paid regionals in the US. This leads many pilots and employees to blame the lack of a union which could have protected pay and possibly lobbied for better contracts. As mentioned above, this is a publicly traded company which adds the 4th member of the SkyWest family, the shareholders. Jerry Atkin, founder and former CEO was very strong in believing the employees are what make SkyWest the success it is. Policies and decisions since his departure in 2016, replaced by current CEO Chip Childs seems to spark criticism that the employee has taken a back seat to profits and shareholders. This "feel" within the company has led many new pilots to no longer flock to SkyWest when other regional airlines offer the same advances with upwards of three times the pay. In summary, times have changed in the airline world. Five years ago, SkyWest was a great airline as it was compared to other regional carriers which were not so great. Now that most other regional airlines are getting much better in terms of contracts, pay, mainline flow, profit stability ect. SkyWest has not risen with the times to meet this same level. We are the largest regional in the US and we do not have the protection of a union. This for many, myself included when I was a new hire, is frightening and makes the image of company trust that more important. You are "represented" by SAPA and other departmental associations which are supposed to act like an "in-company union" lobbying your concerns to the company. This is most frequently referred to as "student council". Concerns have grown further as SAPA has failed to get funding for its own website from the company until very recently, its own loss of medical insurance ploy was recently found to have flaws that were directly in conflict with what was told to employees by SAPA ect. As the company employees continue to see no change to better the employee and lack further trust of SAPA, this plays again into the chance of a push to unionize.