Southwest Pilots Announce They May Go On Strike One Month After Airline’s Nationwide Meltdown

Members of the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association initiated the first steps in a strike after thousands of flights were cancelled during the holiday travel season.

Southwest has canceled an increased number of flights, even after severe winter. weather The conditions were better in the days that followed Christmas. The company’s labor union announced that a strike authorization vote will occur on May 1 in response to the holiday meltdown and the “utter lack of meaningful progress on a contract negotiation,” Particularly with respect to information technology requests and scheduling rules.

“I think it is best to consider what our customers have been through over the past several years and the past several weeks,” Southwest Airlines Pilot Association President, Captain Casey Murray, said in a press release. “It was the lack of discussion or commitment by our leadership team to rectify these issues for our passengers and our pilots that drove us to make the decision to carry forward on this path afforded to us by the Railway Labor Act.”

This law was passed in 1926 to ensure that the nation’s railway system became more dependent on it. It allows Congress to exercise its power over interstate commerce and prevent strikes in the transportation sector. Officials recently used This statute is intended to halt any rail strike.

Shares for Southwest dropped 3.5% on Wednesday after the announcement; the company’s stock price has fallen nearly 9% since the beginning of December.

“We believe that May 1 provides a date that 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,” Murray was also quoted. “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.”

According to a report, negotiations between Southwest Airlines and the labor union are set to resume on January 24. press release According to the company, the scheduled authorization vote will not have an impact on operations.

According to a report, Southwest cancelled 16700 Southwest flights between December 21st & December 31. filing The submission was made earlier in the month to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company estimated The number of available seats miles, which is a measure used by the airline industry to estimate revenue generation capacity, fell 6% in the fourth quarter compared to 2019, which was a decrease of 4% from the previous forecasts. The company expects to lose between $725 million-$825 million due to the fallout. This is mainly due to revenue losses of between $400 million-$425 million.

Southwest has been urged by policymakers like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to reimburse customers quickly; he described the “level of disruption” As experienced by passengers “unacceptable” In a recent letter Bob Jordan, Southwest CEO, was warned by his agency that he would not exercise the authority he had given him. “the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers” To ensure that customers receive a refund Buttigieg was criticised by lawmakers from the Democratic Party failing They will implement the new rules for the airline industry that they have previously recommended.