Southwest Pilots Ramp Up Strike-Vote Talk, Push for Contract ‘Guardrails’ Against Future Meltdowns

A Southwest Airlines plane comes in for a landing at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, on May 12, 2020. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

In the wake of the embarrassing, costly Southwest Airlines operational meltdown, its pilots are moving closer to a strike-authorization vote.

Union president Casey Murray said the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) has been fighting for three years to get a contract that would lock in safeguards to keep the airline’s operations on an even keel and prevent pilot fatigue.

“The way we see our contract is to provide some guardrails, to protect them from themselves,” Murray said in a Jan. 9 video update posted on the SWAPA website.

Representing 10,000 pilots, the union has pushed for contract language addressing scheduling issues. Those issues were cited among the weak points that caused Southwest’s operations to collapse in late 2022.

Since then, leaders said that lack of progress at the negotiating table and lack of communication with SWAPA–during and after the meltdown–may force the union’s hand.

A strike authorization would be the first step in a months-long process that federal law requires before any work stoppage. Unions often use strike-authorization votes to force momentum in contract talks.

It’s possible that no such vote would be taken.

“That’s our hope,” Murray said, “[but] I do foresee it happening.” He didn’t say when such a vote would take place. That would depend mainly on the company’s next moves, he added.

The Epoch Times didn’t receive an immediate reply to a Jan. 16 message seeking comment from Southwest. Several other unions at the airline are also operating under outdated contracts. However, Southwest recently announced contracts had been settled with unions representing 200 flight instructors and 50 facilities’ maintenance workers.

Capt. Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) in a photo provided in January 2023. SWAPA.org

Union’s Fate Tied to Airline

From Dec. 21–31, 2022, Southwest canceled 16,700 flights.

The holiday disruptions spawned a flurry of customer complaints, a pair of federal investigations, and two separate lawsuits from customers and shareholders.

The company has projected the cost of the debacle could be as high as $825 million.

SWAPA wants to be the company’s ally, Murray and other leaders said, because pilots depend on the airline for their livelihood.

“We’re not a national union. We’re focused solely on Southwest Airlines, and we want them to succeed,” Murray said.

Still, the union has to safeguard its members’ interests, too. “Southwest provides us a check, but SWAPA puts in the amount,” he said.

Pre-Meltdown Scheduling Woes

The airline’s system for scheduling pilots has been a point of contention between SWAPA and the company for years. SWAPA says its warnings went unheeded, resulting in the December 2022 meltdown.

As a large, powerful storm moved across the nation, bringing snow and frigid temperatures, Southwest’s crew-scheduling computers and staff proved unable to process changes quickly enough.

Chaos ensued as Southwest lost track of its employees; communication broke down.

Flight crews endured hours-long telephone-hold times when trying to report their whereabouts, flight attendants and pilots have stated publicly.

For years before the meltdown, SWAPA sent messages to executives and discussed operational weaknesses.

The union’s website includes several examples of these messages from 2022.

Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines, speaks about efforts to assist customers following a widespread service disruption on Jan. 5, 2023. Southwest Airlines

In April 2022, SWAPA sent an open letter to CEO Bob Jordan, saying: “Our antiquated scheduling processes and technology simply can’t handle the complexities of today’s network.”

Then, in December 2022, just weeks before the meltdown, SWAPA conducted informational picketing at an “investor day” along Wall Street in New York City.

A news release said the goal was to draw investors’ attention “to the continued operational inefficiencies” that have plagued Southwest.

In addition, the news release said, “the need for a new contract is imperative as pilot fatigue rates continue to hover at all-time highs.”

“The pilots wish to highlight—once again—the company’s deviation from its core values of taking care of its employees and force the company to bargain in good faith and (in) the best interest of the airline,” the union said at the time.

Negotiations Started in 2020

Contract talks began in March 2020, several months before the contract ran out on Aug. 31, 2020. Under federal law, airline employees’ contracts don’t expire; they remain in force and become “amendable.”

Following a recent negotiations session, SWAPA emailed an update to its members on Jan. 14.

“This update is not good news. It’s like the meltdown never happened. There is still no recognition by the Company that their misuse of our current Contract was a factor in the operational chaos,” the update said. “And worse, there is still no interest in using SWAPA’s solutions to prevent it from happening again.”

Schedule planning was the top—and only issue—that SWAPA had on the agenda, the update said, adding, “After the meltdown, we had to talk work rules.”

Derrick Vinson speaks with a Southwest Airlines associate about his son being stranded due to canceled and delayed flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, on Dec. 27, 2022. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

To address the concerns, the negotiating committee members say they offered to work early and stay late every day, “but we were met with resistance.”

The union said Southwest’s top executives have repeatedly stated that contract negotiations are arduous, so delays in reaching an agreement are normal.

However, the negotiating committee, which represented pilots during the last round of contract talks in 2016, disagrees.

“This is not normal. Three years into negotiations and in the wake of the worst meltdown in our history, the Company continues to hold your Union at arm’s length and enables their lead negotiator to stall progress,” the SWAPA update said. “We have provided additional details to the SWAPA board, and based on this week’s events, they have expressed to us that time is up.”

Therefore, a strike-authorization vote could be looming.

SWAPA’s negotiating committee is set to meet again with the company and a mediator from Jan. 24–26 in the Woodlands area of Houston.

The message closed: “Our team continues to be available to meet with the Company at any time.”