Kelleher “used to call it the warrior spirit, and there may be some of that around, but for the most part with the way things are going, it’s definitely left the pilot group,” Santoro said. Santoro said employees once would “do things to just help out the company,” reflecting a loyalty to Southwest dating back to its late founder, Herb Kelleher. They justify the request arguing that Southwest flies its planes and pilots longer per day on average. “Can you blame them? I mean you go to Delta, and you make 20-30% more,” said Santoro, who attributes changes at the executive level with a deterioration of the Southwest culture at the ground level.īut the union is asking for slightly higher pay than pilots at other airlines who fly Boeing 737 jets - the only kind of plane in the Southwest fleet - the AP reported. Santoro said that nearly 300 Southwest pilots have left to work for other airlines so far this year, a massive uptick for a company long known for its all-in, employee-first culture. With the Big Three carriers - Delta, American and United airlines - having already reached new deals with their respective pilots unions this year, Southwest now lags in compensation for pilots. Santoro said negotiations are “getting close in the big areas” that the union is focused on - pay, retirement benefits, disability insurance and a revised scheduling process. (Kylie Cooper/The Baltimore Banner) Why do pilots want to strike? “This is an uncertain process for us as a union, but we have to be prepared,” he said.Ī pilot in the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association wears a pin from a joint picket in August of five Southwest hubs: BWI, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago Midway. The latest contract between Southwest and SWAPA expired in September 2020, and both sides have failed to reach an agreement on updated terms since.Īfter the union’s last request to be released from federal mediation was denied, establishing strike centers represents a next step in the process, said Tony Mulhare, a pilot and member of SWAPA’s strike preparedness committee. Airline labor relations are regulated by the Railway Labor Act, which requires the pilots union to come to the table with federal mediators before they can strike. Southwest pilots have wanted to strike for a while, but legally they haven’t been able to. ![]() ![]() And Santoro added that without a reasonable implementation schedule, the new deal is “fragile.” Why now? In a union vote earlier this year that had near full participation, 99% of Southwest pilots voted to authorize the strike. Panebianco stressed that striking would be “absolutely the last tactic,” with the ultimate goal of inking a new deal. The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors.
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