TWU Protests Southwest’s Refusal to Bargain in Good Faith

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TWU Protests Southwest’s Refusal to Bargain in Good Faith

Air, Recent Posts

Published 26 Feb, 2015

</div></p></p> <p><div>On Wednesday, dozens of TWU activists staged an informational picket outside of the Omni Shoreham Hotel in downtown Washington, DC where Southwest Airlines took home <em style=”color: rgb(74, 74, 74);text-decoration: none;text-transform: none;background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);”>Air Transport Magazine</em>’s “Airline of the Year” award. Led by Local 555 leadership and rank and file, protesters called for an end to Southwest’s refusal to bargain in good faith, which has left the airline’s 10,000 TWU-represented ground crew workers without a contract for over four years.</div></p> <p><div>“When we heard a magazine was giving Southwest an ‘Airline of the Year’ award, we figured it must be <em style=”color: rgb(74, 74, 74);text-decoration: none;text-transform: none;background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);”>The Onion</em>,” said TWU Local 555 President Charles Cerf, who was out on the picket line on Wednesday. “Because if you’re giving an award to an airline which acts like a bully to its workers, squeezing workers while earning billions in profits—that has to be a joke, right?”</div></p> <p><div><br /> <div>Despite difficult workloads due to handling larger aircraft and higher health care costs, most Southwest ground workers have not received a pay raise in the past four-and-a-half years. The local has been in negotiations with the airline for a new contract since July 2011, with little progress during the past three-and-a-half years.</div></p> <p><div>Since 2011, Southwest has earned over $3 billion in net income, including a record profit of $1.14 billion in 2014, following the airline’s merger with AirTran. The airline also is continuing to benefit from a steep drop in the price of jet fuel.</div></p> <p><div>Breaking from the Southwest tradition of rewarding employees as important stakeholders in the company, current management has held down wages despite healthy profits. While most baggage handlers have seen their wages frozen, Southwest imposes higher health care costs on its employees each year, resulting in a loss of take home pay.</div></p> <p><div>“It’s absurd that anybody would honor Southwest after the way it treats employees,” said Greg Puriski, a Southwest Ramp Agent and Local 555 member, who marched in the protest. “Stagnating pay and the decline of the middle class are huge problems in this country. Southwest is a profitable company that has a chance to be part of the solution. Instead, they’re making the problem worse.”</div></p> <p><p style=”color: rgb(74, 74, 74);text-decoration: none;text-transform: none;background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);”>Our brothers and sisters at Local 555 were joined in solidarity by TWU International Secretary-Treasurer Alex Garcia, ATD Director Garry Drummond, International COPE Field Representative Terry Daniels, Local 570 Vice President and Government Affairs Field Staff Representative Andrew Rangolan, and numerous members of TWU International staff.</p><br /> <div>Protesters told airline industry heavyweights attending the award ceremony that the industry must respect aviation workers if it wants to remain globally competitive. A company that refuses to recongize and fairly compensate its workforce cannot and should not be considered an industry leader.</div></p> <p><div>“We want everyone attending this high-profile event to know that Southwest can do better—and must do better—to succeed in today’s competitive travel industry,” said President Cerf.</div></p> <p>

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TWU Protests Southwest’s Refusal to Bargain in Good Faith

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