Why Hundreds Of Southwest Airlines Crewmembers Picketed In Denver Last Week

The informational picketing continues at Southwest Airlines of its flight attendants and pilots as contract negotiations continue – most recently at a September 20 Southwest Airlines spirit party. For the unions, this is a matter of seeking structural reform at an airline once renowned for its culture in contract negotiations.

Unified in upset at culture and preventing another meltdown

Both the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), with over 10,000 members, and the cabin crew union (TWU Local 556), with 20,000 members, are upset at the decay in Southwest Airlines’ culture. Although this has been amply covered starting in August 2022, as SWAPA President Casey Murray shared with Simple Flying,

“We have continued to picket the Southwest Spirit Parties as we believe this is not a time to be celebrating. Coming off the worst meltdown in aviation history and with very few solutions or fixes being offered, our customers are still facing delays and cancellations.”

The meltdown Murray refers to was when Southwest Airlines canceled 16,700 flights between December 21-31. This also became the impetus for SWAPA to initiate the process of calling a Strike Authorization Vote. The SAV did pass with 99% approval in early May.

Photo: SWAPA

For the flight attendants represented by TWU Local 556, matters are similar. As the union president Lyn Montgomery shared with Denver 7,

“Flight attendants have shown up here on their days off because they are angry at Southwest Airlines. It’s not a great place to work. Flight attendants are feeling abused with extended duty days, massive reschedules, no certainty in their work life.”

Indeed, scheduling issues have been ongoing with Southwest Airlines – and helped trigger both the December 2022 meltdown and the May 2023 SWAPA SAV.

Pay and slow negotiations also key issues

Currently, TWU 556 has not conducted an SAV. However, as Montgomery did share with America’s Work Force Union Podcast,

We have been protesting at the Spirit Parties because we are wanting the corporate executives to see us rallying against their actual decisions that they are making, while it to be very clear that they are making decisions that are greedy and selfish. And they are living lavishly, while we are not even being able to make ends meet.

SWAPA also put out a recent SWAPA Number podcast episode updating its members on negotiations. In the podcast linked below, one of the union negotiating committee leaders said,

However, another request to be released from mediation and start the 30-day countdown clock to a strike can come anytime. As Murray also shared with Simple Flying,

“Over half of all the employees of Southwest Airlines continue to show up while working under expired contracts. The Pilots and Flight Attendants represent the vast majority of these employees. Below the wing, our ramp workers just last week on the same day we picketed, voted down their tentative agreement with Southwest Airlines,

“Those two facts speak volumes that Southwest Airlines has misplaced its vaunted culture and fails to recognize that its employees need up-to-date CBAs [Collective Bargaining Agreements] if they want support in avoiding a repeat of last year’s Christmas meltdown.”

Photo: Denver International Airport

Ultimately, with autumn starting in the Northern Hemisphere and the depth of last year’s meltdown – the fear of a repeat of last year’s December meltdown is top of mind for both union leaders.

Management response

In response to concerns about another winter shutdown, according to an Aviation Pros republishing of a Denver Post article, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said,

Last March, Southwest Airlines announced an action plan to address winter weather. But, additionally, Southwest Airlines is switching weather providers to SureWeather – also used by United Airlines. The airline is also buying more deicing equipment like pads and trucks, plus experimenting with forced air trucks to clear the ground to keep Southwest’s Boeing 737s from being frozen in ice.

Photo: Denver International Airport

As to labor negotiations, CEO Jordan did not just lament the slow pace of labor negotiations but also said bluntly to the media: “We want them to be paid.”

Bottom line

The problems at Southwest Airlines on display in last week’s informational picket are not new. But Southwest Airlines has one in 4.5 US domestic seats for sale and over 770 intra-US routes and needs to regain the trust of its employees.

Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying

According to strategy-business.com, the founder Herb Kelleher once said,

“Our mission statement deals solely with people. That never changes — in any way, shape, or form. The focus of Southwest Airlines has always been on its people, regardless of how large we grew. Everybody would keep saying to me, “Wait until you get to a thousand, wait until you get to 5,000, wait until you get to 10,000” — as if there was some bright line when you go over from the humanistic and entrepreneurial into the totally managerial. There is no such line in dealing with your people,

“Your spirit is the most powerful thing at all.”

We will let recent historical events at Southwest Airlines speak for themselves.

What are your takeaways? Please share with civility in the comments.

Sources: America’s Work Force Union Podcast, Aviation Pros, Denver 7, Strategy-Business.com