Southwest Airlines flight attendants say no to contract offers from union and airline
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines flight attendants have rejected a contract proposal reached by airline and union negotiators.
Transportation Workers Union Local 556 announced Friday that the proposal failed 64% to 36%.
Local president Lynne Montgomery said the vote comes after five years of negotiations that failed to yield raises for flight crews.
“We will come back to the table to achieve a collective bargaining agreement that meets the needs of our industry’s hardest-working flight attendants,” he said in a statement.
Montgomery previously said the proposal would give Southwest Airlines flight attendants industry-leading salaries, 16 percent more than non-union Delta Air Lines flight attendants.
“We are disappointed that the industry-leading agreement reached between our negotiating committees was not ratified,” Dallas-based Southwest said in a statement. The airline said it was awaiting word on its next steps from the National Mediation Board, which is involved in negotiations with the union.
Southwest Airlines is also negotiating with its pilots, who have twice asked a federal arbitrator for permission to begin a 30-day countdown to a strike, but have been denied both times.
Flight attendants at American Airlines and United Airlines, which are represented by unions separate from Southwest Airlines, are also negotiating new contracts.
Airline employees say they have continued to work during the pandemic and deserve higher pay now that most airlines are back in the black. Pilots at American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have won raises of about 40% over five years.