Southwest Airlines faces battles on multiple fronts.
First, the struggling carrier must win back its customers' trust after its holiday-season meltdown left tens of thousands of passengers stranded. The company then compounded those problems by not handling its apologies and make-goods from those cancellations well.
DON'T MISS: Southwest Airlines Makes a Major Passenger-Friendly Change
The airline has pledged billions to solve the technical and equipment-related issues that at least partly caused those problems. It has not, however, fully solved its personnel problems, which also contributed.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) has not reached a contract agreement with several key unions, most notably its flight attendants and pilots. Both those groups have staged public actions designed to draw attention to their battle with their employer.
Currently, Southwest and its pilots are engaged in mediation to reach a new contract. In mediation an impartial third party works to help both sides find a middle ground and reach a deal that both can accept.
That approach doesn't appear to be succeeding, at least based on the most recent action by the airline's pilots union. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association has filed a request with the National Mediation Board to be officially released from mediation.
Image source: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Southwest Faces an Angry Pilots Union
The pilots association released a letter saying it has been in negotiations for a new contract for more than three years and in federal mediation since September 2022. The letter said the union negotiators "have become increasingly frustrated with Southwest’s lack of commitment to negotiating in earnest and the pace of productivity during this negotiation cycle."
“If released from mediation, our Pilot group will continue down the path afforded to us through the Railway Labor Act,” the pilots union president, Casey Murray, said.
“It is an unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in today, however, our pilots have waited long enough for a contract. We can no longer sit by as our fellow aviators are rewarded with industry-leading contracts and watch as we bleed qualified new hires to our competitors. We love our airline, and we are willing to do what it takes to get Southwest back to the airline it once was.”
Union leaders expressed frustration at the process and the lack of progress.
"In light of this request, our pilots hope that Southwest's negotiators will make a stronger commitment and more meaningful preparations in order to expedite a long-overdue contract that rewards the most productive 737 pilots in the industry," the pilots association concluded.
Southwest Air Pilots May Strike
The association did not use the word "strike" in its letter, but Murray did use the word in comments to news media.
"None of us want to strike," Murray said. "The next step is to bring attention to the problem and bring attention to Southwest Airlines that, number one, they're not negotiating in good faith and that we need to, you know, take this next step."
The union and Southwest disagree about what Murray called "overwhelming flight schedules." These, he said, can contribute to flight delays and pilot fatigue, which could lead to more breakdowns like the one the airline experienced over the holiday season.
Southwest Airlines did not immediately answer a request from TheStreet for comment. it did, however, make a statement to KERA News:
"We’ve continued meeting regularly with [the pilots association] and, in fact, made an industry-leading compensation proposal and scheduling adjustments to address workplace quality-of-life issues for our Pilots," Southwest Vice President of Labor Relations Adam Carlisle said. "We feel confident that mediation will continue driving us even closer to a final agreement that will benefit both our Pilots and Southwest Airlines."
The airline has formally objected to the union asking to be released from negotiations.
July 4th Sale! Receive full access to real-time market analysis along with stock, commodities, and options trading recommendations. Sign up for Real Money Pro now for 65% off.
