Southwest Airlines and its pilots have been in federal mediation over a new contract and have been unable to come to terms.
The two sides have actually been negotiating for roughly 3 1/2 years with no end in sight.
This comes even as rivals United (UAL) -), American, and Delta have reached deals that give their pilots large raises.
Those deals should set the basic guidelines for an accord between Southwest Airlines (LUV) -) and its pilots, but no agreement has been reached, and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association has asked to be released from mediation.
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The request was denied, which legally kept the airline's pilots from striking. That, however, does not mean that an agreement is near or that work actions will not take place.
Southwest's pilots can't strike but they can hold sickouts, which are a quasi-legal way to disrupt the airline. The union has not threatened to do that, but it has gone on the offensive to make clear that wages are not the key issue preventing a deal.
The pilots union president, Capt. Casey Murray, explained in a recent interview with Aviation Daily that salary was not the core issue being debated.
“I feel confident when I say that we’re the only labor union in the world that is not trying to work less and get paid more; we’re trying to provide efficiency so that we work smarter,” he said. “That’s our main sticking point in negotiations -- simply trying to drive some efficiencies in how we are being used.”
The union has made clear that quality-of-life issues for its members, which it believes will benefit passengers, are the core issues preventing a deal. That makes sense because the United, Delta (DAL) -), and American Airlines (AAL) -) deals set a framework for the pay-related part of Southwest's deal.
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How much do Southwest pilots make?
Southwest's contract with its pilots is not public. The airline does not share its wage scale openly, and pilots generally have kept numbers pretty close to the vest. That's likely because they are well paid and about to get a roughly 40% increase when a new deal is reached, based on the terms of the United, Delta, and American deals.
One Southwest pilot emailed TheStreet to share salary details for Southwest pilots. He asked to be kept anonymous due to fear of reprisal from the union.
"You should put our union on the record on how much our average pilot makes which is waaaaay more than the published minimum. It would shock the average citizen. We make more than the average doctor and lawyer, and a college degree is no longer required," he shared.
The job information site Glassdoor has an estimate for Southwest pilots' salaries.
The estimated total pay for a Airline Pilot at Southwest Airlines is $163,709 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $118,827 per year. The estimated additional pay is $44,882 per year. Additional pay could include bonus, stock, commission, profit sharing or tips.
The pilot who emailed TheStreet said that real numbers are much higher.
"I am one of a growing number of Southwest pilots NOT happy with the way our union is acting. This IS about pay, and our average pilot makes $300K a year. Last year, I made $540K! (I have been here 20 years). We are well compensated, and I for one, am a happy pilot and employee of Southwest," he said.
In the email the anonymous pilot called the union "greedy and unreasonable."
It's important to note that one dissatisfied pilot (or even a few dozen) does not mean the union does not have the support of its members.
A request for comment to the pilots union's Facebook page via Instant Messenger was not immediately returned.
Murray, the union president, did make the following statement to Scripps News on Sept. 4:
"215 pilots have left just this year — compare that to 571 that have left since 1971. So it is a huge number, and it's strictly because we don't have a contract.
"Delta, American, United all settled their contracts, and we have pilots going seeking better pay, better benefits and really the most important thing is, is more reliable scheduling," he said.
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