The Transport Workers Union (TWU) today planned an informational picketing session at 16 airports across the country, protesting what it says are prolonged labor talks with Southwest Airlines and accusing the carrier of cramming more schedules into already-tight time frames.
TWU Local 555 was scheduled to protest and hand out informational flyers in Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Denver, Fort Myers, Indianapolis, Los Angeles/Ontario, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Reno, San Diego, San Jose and Seattle.
The union cited a Los Angeles Times article about Southwest's precipitous drop in on-time performance. The author wrote that "the probem was caused by Southwest's deliberate and very ill-advised strategy to cram more flights into its schedule without expanding its aircraft fleet and whilie adding seats to existing planes."
TWU said it's not the baggage handlers, it's Southwest decisions being made at the top by CEO Gary Kelly. In a statement, Southwest called the informational picketing "a common practice during negotiations and will not impact our operations. We have always supported, and will continue to support, our employees' right to express their opinions."
The union said it has been without a contract and without pay raises for almost four years, while the workload has increased - as well as Southwest's profit margin.
"Wouldn't it make sense at this time to invest in on-time performance and provide more support to those groud workers who do the airline's heavy lifting?" TWU wrote on its website.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
