Southwest Strikes Deal With Unions

Southwest Airlines made progress with its ongoing contract negotiations with employees this past weekend by reaching deals with unions representing flight attendants and mechanics.

Commercial airline giant Southwest announced in a statement to WFAA that it had “reached an agreement in principle” with two more unions on new contract terms just in time for the summer travel season.

As The Dallas Express reported, Southwest and other airlines are expecting a solid season for commercial air travel, despite the rising costs faced by vacationers.

With the latest wrapped negotiations, the Dallas-based airline has struck eight deals with workers’ unions since October 2022, according to WFAA.

These workers became even more disgruntled with Southwest after the chaos seen during the holiday travel season last December that led to thousands of flights being canceled.

The airline has since invested in updating its widely criticized tech infrastructure and adding 70 new planes to the fleet, as The Dallas Express reported.

Passenger requests like being able to charge devices in-flight and larger overhead bins have been taken into account in the amenities offered by the new jetliners.

Southwest’s exchanges with unions representing pilots and ground workers are still ongoing.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association voted almost unanimously last month to authorize a strike, as The Dallas Express reported. Any plans to strike will not affect flights scheduled during the summer travel season, according to Southwest officials.

The details of the terms agreed to by the negotiating parties last weekend will be released soon, according to WFAA.

In any case, the deal was a long time coming for the flight attendants’ union in particular, which had been in mediation with Southwest since 2018.

“This extensive negotiation looks messy, but doesn’t impact travelers at the end of the day,” Scott Keyes, travel expert and founder of going.com, told Fox 4.

Picketing is in Southwest workers’ wheelhouse, as those appearing outside Dallas Love Field Airport late last year demonstrated.

But there has never been a labor strike at Southwest, so the recent strike authorization vote by Southwest’s pilots was more a symbolic gesture, according to WFAA.