After trying for a year to reach a new contract. Southwest Airlines pilots have voted to strike and asked to be released from federal contract mediation with the airline.
The overall negotiations have gone on for more than three years and the airline's pilots have not been shy about their frustration with the process. Southwest Airlines (LUV) -) Pilots Association President Casey Murray made clear 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. That’s our main sticking point in negotiations -- simply trying to drive some efficiencies in how we are being used,” he said.
That may explain why Southwest and its pilots have failed to reach a deal even after United Airlines (UAL) -) and American Airlines signed new deals with their pilots. Those agreements likely set salary parameters for Southwest's stalled negotiations, but they do not address the pilots union's quality-of-life concerns.
Now, after the National Mediation Board denied the pilots group's request to break off negotiations -- a move that would clear the way for a strike -- the airline's pilots are taking a bold new step.
Image source: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Southwest's pilots stage an unprecedented event
While Southwest's pilots can't legally strike, they can publicly express their frustration with the airline.
And they're doing that by holding "its first-ever multibase informational picket on Thursday, Aug. 31, at Baltimore-Washington, Los Angeles International, Hartsfield Jackson International (Atlanta), Houston Hobby, and Chicago Midway airports," the Southwest pilots group said on its website.
This isn't a work stoppage, a sickout, or any of the other ways the pilots could disrupt service without striking. Instead, the airline's pilots want the public to know more about their situation.
"This informational picket is being held to demonstrate the pilots’ frustration at still not having a contract after three-and-a-half years of negotiations," the union said.
All pickets will end at noon local time and they will not include any pilots scheduled to be working during those hours.
'Southwest Air can't sit idly by': Pilots Union
“Our pilots deserve a contract that befits the most productive pilots in the industry, and we have been attempting to get Southwest to realize that their delay in reaching an agreement is causing irreparable harm not just to our pilots, but to the airline itself," Murray said in a media statement.
"Southwest Airlines simply cannot afford to sit idly by while every other carrier continues to reward their pilots and lure them away with better contracts and benefits.”
Southwest Airlines shared the following statement with TheStreet.
Southwest Airlines respects the rights of our Employees to express their opinions, and we do not anticipate any disruption in service because of today’s demonstration of off-duty Pilots. Our contract negotiations continue, with leaders from both parties meeting this week, and we’ll keep working with the assistance of the National Mediation Board to reach an agreement that rewards our pilots and places them competitively in the industry. For 52 years, we’ve maintained a legendary Southwest culture that honors our valued employees, and we look forward to continuing that legacy.
In July the airline also had sent TheStreet a comment on the negotiations.
"We feel confident that the mediation process will continue driving us even closer to a final agreement that rewards our Pilots and supports our business. We have a 52-year history of taking care of Southwest Employees, and we look forward to continuing that legacy," Southwest Labor Relations Vice President Adam Carlisle said in the emailed statement.
He also wanted to make it clear that "Southwest has been in negotiations for a new Pilot contract about one year less than several other carriers that have recently announced agreements."
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