Southwest Airlines pilots voted to authorize a strike after just a week and a half of voting.
With 98% of pilots represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, 99% of pilots voted to authorize a strike. The vote had originally been scheduled to run through the end of May, but pilots overwhelmingly placed their vote to strike. The union is the sole bargaining unit for over 9,000 pilots at Southwest, and pilots have been in labor negotiations for over three years.
A strike authorization vote is a long way from an actual strike though, likely months or years away from an actual walkout. But it is a negotiating move meant to show the company how disgruntled pilots are after negotiating since August 2020. To strike, pilots would need approval from federal regulators that have determined that there is no chance of the two sides coming to a deal.
“This is a historic day, not only for our pilots, but for Southwest Airlines,” said Casey Murray, SWAPA president in a release. “The lack of leadership and the unwillingness to address the failures of our organization have led us to this point. 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.”
Southwest Airlines posted a statement to its website reiterating that pilots are not on strike and the vote result does not impact scheduled operations.
Airlines and unions are governed by special labor rules as part of the Railway Labor Act. It would take several more steps before pilots could strike, including permission from the National Mediation Board to end talks.
“Our negotiating team continues to bargain in good faith and work toward reaching a new agreement to reward our Pilots,” said Adam Carlisle, vice president of labor relations at Southwest Airlines in a release. “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.”
Murray said that pilots have been working with Jody Reven, SWAPA’s negotiating committee chair, to petition the National Mediation Board to release the union to self-help soon to follow the process set forth by the Railway Labor Act and strike. The Railway Labor Act regulates collective bargaining in the rail and airline industries.
“This is historic for Southwest and it goes to show the level of frustration that we have and that we share with our passengers with the operational chaos that’s going on,” Murray said.
He said 80% of pilots voted within the first six hours, and within 24 hours, the union had very close to 90% of pilots that had voted. Less than 1% of pilots voted to not strike.
In April, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told The Dallas Morning News he felt the carrier was getting closer to deals with key labor unions.
Pilots at Delta Air Lines approved a contract earlier this year, raising their pay by more than 30% over four years. The union said the Delta deal will lead to a cumulative $7 billion in pay raises. This month, pilots at American Airlines also voted to authorize a strike, even though the carrier said it is close to a deal.
“We want our passengers to understand that we do not take this path lightly and are disheartened that the LUV airline has gotten so far away from the values set forth by Herb Kelleher,” Murray said. “We want our customers to be prepared for the path ahead and make arrangements on other carriers so that their plans through the summer and fall are not disrupted.”
