More than 300 sign-carrying Southwest Airlines pilots dressed in their blue uniforms spent several hours outside the airline’s headquarters and at a nearby intersection in front of Love Field Wednesday afternoon to protest the lack of a new contract after nearly four years of negotiations.
Standing shoulder to shoulder, the pilots stood quietly and instead let signs that read “It’s time for a contract” and “We need a contract” get their message across.
“There’s not yelling and screaming. We want to do it the Southwest way. We’re steadfast in our resolve to get (the contract) done,” said Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association president Jon Weaks. “That process starts today. We can get our message across in a serious and professional way.”
Pilots at the picket spoke frequently about what they saw as the decline of Southwest Airlines company culture. That culture prioritizes employees, said Weaks, a 26-year veteran pilot at the airline, who added that many pilots feel those values have diminished in recent years.
“I think (the picket) will hit on that they’ve lost something. This hasn’t happened before in the history of the pilot group,” he said of the demonstration, the first time pilots have picketed their employer.
In a statement, Southwest senior vice president of air operations Craig Drew said the company was disappointed by the pilots’ rejection of a tentative contract agreement reached last fall.
“Until talks resume, we have limited insight into what SWAPA’s new leadership is seeking or what they hope to accomplish with informational picketing,” Drew’s statement said. “Their demonstration does not change our steadfast commitment and 45-year history of serving our Employees and Customers.”
The pilots’ union is planning another picket next week in Las Vegas at the Orleans Hotel near McCarran International Airport, Weaks said.
Contract negotiations are expected to start up again in March when both sides are scheduled to meet with a federal mediator present.
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