Southwest Airlines Pilots Set Strike Authorization Vote to ‘Wake Up’ Company Officials

Southwest Airlines pilots have set a “historic” strike-authorization vote, following a lack of progress in contract negotiations and a massive operational meltdown.

In a Jan. 18 announcement, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) said a vote has been set “beginning on May 1, and will ultimately give pilots the ability to strike.” The union, which represents about 10,000 pilots, said this is the first time in the airline’s 51-year history for such a vote.

The union’s vice president, Capt. Michael Santoro, in a SWAPA Facebook post, said the union is exasperated. He called the vote is “a tool we must employ to wake up management.”

“We’ve tried everything to get the attention of (CEO) Bob Jordan and (COO) Andrew Watterson,” Santoro said. “We’ve had leadership meetings, data exchanges, negotiations, informational pickets, and extensive media coverage. Nothing has moved the needle.”

Capt. Michael Santoro, first vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. (SWAPA.org)

Earlier this week, as SWAPA was discussing the potential for such a vote,  Southwest Airlines, in an email to The Epoch Times, said the union’s “mention of a strike-authorization vote does not affect Southwest’s operation or our ability to take care of our customers.”

The Epoch Times has asked the airline for an updated comment about the latest development.

The union said it picked the May 1 date because it “allows our union time to prepare and gives our customers time to book elsewhere, so that they can have confidence that their summer vacations, honeymoons, and family outings are assured.” The votes will be counted at the end of May, SWAPA said.

During negotiations, the union has been pushing the company for contract language to address “scheduling work rules and information technology,” SWAPA said.

Those were two of the major factors the union blamed after a winter storm touched off problems that led to 16,700 canceled flights during the holiday rush of the last 10 days of 2022.

In an analysis that included exclusive employee interviews, The Epoch Times detailed events that culminated in the meltdown and described employees’ fears for the company’s future.

Airline Working on Improvements

An email from the Texas-based airline stated that the company is “committed to having the right people and processes in place as we upgrade our existing technology, tools, and automation.” The email also explained that two outside firms have been helping the company with those efforts, General Electric Co., and Oliver Wyman. Watterson formerly worked at Oliver Wyman.

But SWAPA accuses management of allowing a technology deficit to fester. Management’s failure to address known issues forced SWAPA along “the path afforded to us by the Railway Labor Act,” SWAPA’s news release said. The Act governs labor-management relations at airlines. It also spells out a process that is designed to head off a strike.

In SWAPA’s news release, Capt. Casey Murray, union president, stated, “It is not a decision we have taken lightly, but given the trajectory of our current leadership group, we have little faith in the stability and future of our airline.”

In the Facebook video, Murray told union members: “This is not a decision that we take lightly. But the time is now. It is time to let your voice be heard. And it’s time for you to speak for your career, for your families, and for all pilots. Remember, at the end of the day, Southwest provides you a paycheck, but SWAPA fills in the amount.”

Capt. Tom Nekouei, SWAPA’s second vice president, told members: “We are prepared.”

Several events to engage members are upcoming, including a Feb. 4 picket planned in Baltimore, according to SWAPA’s Twitter account.

In the coming weeks, SWAPA intends to contact all of its members, “to explain what this means to you, your families, and our careers,” Nekouei said.

An information booklet is now being produced and will arrive at pilots’ homes next month, he said.