Southwest’s (LUV) pilots union has voted to authorize a strike.
Southwest Airlines Pilots Association has announced its strike authorization vote, with 98% participation by union membership, and a 99% approval of the referendum.
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Southwest pilots’s contracts became amenable in September 2020. Since last year, pilots have been picketing events attended by executives, as they allege that newish CEO Robert Jordan has been favoring shareholder returns and bonuses over spending the money necessary to hire and fairly compensate pilots, and to upgrade their flight scheduling software.
(Many experts believe that last December’s infamous Southwest meltdown could have been avoided if the company hadn’t neglected its scheduling software, which was reportedly overdue for an overhaul.)
The Strike Authorization Is A Negotiation Tactic
Authorizing a strike doesn’t necessarily mean one will happen, as it is common for unions to approve one as a negotiation tactic with management.
"The lack of leadership and the unwillingness to address the failures of our organization have led us to this point," SWAPA president Casey Murray said in a prepared statement. "Our pilots are tired of apologizing to our passengers on behalf of a company that refuses to place its priorities on its internal and external customers."
Under the Railway Labor Act, which regulates job actions in the airline industry, the Southwest union cannot strike until the National Mediation Board rules that further mediation would not be effective. The next step after that would be an offer for the union and management to go to arbitration. If this offer is rejected, the union would be required to wait 30 days before initiating a strike or lockout.
"Our negotiating team continues to bargain in good faith and work toward reaching a new agreement to reward our pilots," said Adam Carlisle, vice president labor relations at Southwest Airlines. "This anticipated authorization vote result does not change our commitment to the negotiation process, and we look forward to continuing discussions with SWAPA at the negotiating table."
It is believed that because of the ongoing pilot shortage, unions have the upper-hand in negotiations. Last week United Airlines (UAL) pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), picketed 10 airports, calling for increases in compensation., better working rules conditions and improvements to the scheduling system.
