Southwest Airlines pilots are considering a new agreement, making the airline the last major airline to sign contracts with its pilots.
More than 10,000 Southwest Airlines pilots, represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, are mediating contracts that became amendable in 2020.
“This AIP is the result of three and a half years of lengthy negotiations,” SWAPA President Casey Murray said in a statement. “We have finally reached a point where we believe the value of our pilots and their productivity is being realized. Our pilots and Southwest Airlines customers deserve security and confidence in our future. We believe this agreement will achieve that.”
Details of the contract will be announced after board approval, but the pay increase is expected to be comparable to the more than 40% increases over four years that pilots at other airlines receive.
Pilots from Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Fort Worth-based American Airlines have already reached an agreement.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association for Southwest Airlines’ approximately 11,000 pilots,” Adam Carlisle, Southwest Airlines’ vice president of labor relations, said in a statement. Stated. “AIP is an important milestone in the process and we look forward to the next steps.”
Although this is an important step, this agreement does not guarantee agreement. Southwest Airlines flight attendants in TWU Local 556 recently rejected a contract offer, and other carriers had to return to negotiations even after reaching tentative agreements.
In March, Delta Air Lines signed a pilot contract. Representatives of the pilots are as follows. Airline Pilot Association. The deal increased their salaries by more than 30% over four years. The union, which represents about 15,000 pilots, voted on the contract in March.
American Airlines pilots reached a basic agreement with the airline in May ahead of the busy travel season. The Allied Pilots Association represents more than 15,000 pilots in America.
American Airlines initially considered an agreement with Chicago-based United Airlines and its pilot union, the Airline Pilots Association. United Airlines pilots in July agreed to new four-year contracts that will increase their cumulative compensation by 40.2% over the life of the contract.
But an agreement with United Airlines ultimately brought American pilots back to the negotiating table temporarily. In July, the union reached a new tentative agreement to provide a 21% fully pensionable ratification bonus from January to July. Some of the new terms of the deal were conditional on United’s ratification of the agreement, including increasing pilot pay rates to match those of United and Delta Air Lines. Finally, in August, American Airlines pilots voted on the agreement.
In October, the union picketed during a cultural seminar in the Southwest. Southwest Airlines pilots also opened a strike center in November, a resource center in the event of a strike. However, airline labor organizations must take a number of steps to actually go on strike under the Railway Labor Law. This law is administered by the National Arbitration Board and is commonly used to avoid interference with interstate commerce by transportation unions and their companies.