They never invest the money and resources they need to. Our software cant keep track of it," Santoro said Tuesday, adding that the union brings up this problem yearly. "We fly a point-to-point network which can put our crews in the wrong places, without airplanes, mismatched. But at this point, the many years of failure by management, despite many unions’ demands to modernize, has left flight attendants fatigued, stranded, hungry and cold."Īccording to Captain Michael Santoro, Vice President of Southwest Airlines Pilot Association, while severe weather was the catalyst, it was "vastly outdated" IT infrastructure and scheduling system that's different from other carriers that led to the meltdown. "We know winter storms.We know about stepping up and putting in long work hours when we are called to do so we are flight attendants. "We know the demands of holiday travel," the union's statement goes on to say. It's not just Southwest passengers that are stranded.Īccording to a release from TWU Local 556, Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Union of more than 18,000 members, "thousands" of crew members are also stranded across the country, "some forced to sleep on cots in airports, some in hotels without power or water, and far too many working long hours well past acceptable duty days, and more." "The tools we use to recover from disruption serve us well, 99 percent of the time but clearly, we need to double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances so that we never again face what's happening right now."įile photo of a Southwest Airlines pilot at a gate at Midway International Airport "Our network is highly complex and the operation of the airline counts on all the pieces, especially aircraft and crews remaining in motion to where they're planned to go," Jordan said. In a statement released by Southwest Monday, the airline said it was severe weather that "forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams use to recover the airline operating at capacity," and that the airline has made the decision to "continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one third of our schedule for the next several days."Ī video update posted on Southwest Airline's website Tuesday from CEO Bob Jordan echoed this sentiment, saying that "cities where large numbers of scheduled flights simultaneously froze as record bitter cold brought challenges for all airlines." Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here. Southwest and its pilots might still be far apart, but in the past few months it has struck collective bargaining agreements with other work groups, including its meteorologists and its customer service employees.Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. "This anticipated authorization vote result does not change our commitment to the negotiation process, and we look forward to continuing discussions with SWAPA at the negotiating table." "Our negotiating team continues to bargain in good faith and work toward reaching a new agreement to reward our Pilots," replied Adam Carlisle, vice president of labor relations at Southwest Airlines, in a statement of his own. “Our pilots are tired of apologizing to our passengers on behalf of a company that refuses to place its priorities on its internal and external customers.” “The lack of leadership and the unwillingness to address the failures of our organization have led us to this point,” said Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, in a statement. The pressure was increased on the airline earlier this year when Delta Air Lines agreed to an industry-changing pilot contract that offers $7 billion in higher pay and benefits.Īnd as the negotiations have failed to yield an agreement, rhetoric on both sides is starting to ramp up. The vote does not mean a walkout is imminent Southwest, in a statement, said the result has “no impact on our scheduled operations.”įor the past three years, Southwest and its pilots’ union have been working on a new deal, but have failed to come to terms. Virtually all (99%) of the 98% of eligible pilots who cast a vote were in favor of the authorization. More from Fortune: 5 side hustles where you may earn over $20,000 per year-all while working from home Looking to make extra cash? This CD has a 5.15% APY right now Buying a house? Here's how much to save This is how much money you need to earn annually to comfortably buy a $600,000 home Pilots at Southwest Airlines have voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike as contract negotiations with the carrier drag on.
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