AS YOU READ THIS STORY, NOTICE HOW THE "MEMBERS" and the "TWU UNION" ARE ALWAYS REFERENCED AS TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS????????
Monday April 12, 5:54 PM EDT
By Jon Herskovitz
DALLAS, April 12 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines (LUV) said on Monday it wants the union representing its flight attendants to show the rank and file a contract offer from the low-fare carrier to help complete long-simmering talks on a new deal.
The airline and the union -- the only major labor group at the airline that has not reached a new contract -- have been in talks for almost two years on a new deal. Federal mediators have also been called in to help with the talks, which are currently in recess.
A Southwest spokeswoman said the deal submitted by the airline in February offers significant pay increases.
A member of the union negotiating team said Southwest has tried to broach its contract proposal directly to union members to force the union's hand. The union thinks it should wait to show its members a tentative deal struck by both sides, for which the rank and file could then vote.
Ginger Hardage, a Southwest spokeswoman, said in an interview that most senior flight attendants would see a 21 percent increase in pay over the course of the contract, which runs through 2008, while some junior flight attendants would see a 111 percent increase over the course of the deal.
"We are asking that they see the contract. We believe that with the level of increases that they would be getting, they would want the contract to take effect as soon as possible," Hardage said.
Cindy Ritner, a member of the negotiating team for Transport Workers Union Local 556, disputed the figures.
Labor talks at Southwest, although sometimes heated, have typically been marked by less acrimony than such talks at other airlines. Some people within and outside the company said the talks between Southwest and the flight attendants are presenting a challenge to the culture at the carrier.
Last week the union sent Southwest Chief Executive Jim Parker a letter that said it was willing to return to the bargaining table to discuss a new contract, but the union feels the airline appears to have given up on negotiations.
The union has said it is looking for increases comparable to what other labor groups reached with the carrier, which it said ranged between 6 percent and 7.5 percent per year.
NEVER FORGET, WITH AMFA, MEMBERS OBSERVE NEGOTIATIONS!
Monday April 12, 5:54 PM EDT
By Jon Herskovitz
DALLAS, April 12 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines (LUV) said on Monday it wants the union representing its flight attendants to show the rank and file a contract offer from the low-fare carrier to help complete long-simmering talks on a new deal.
The airline and the union -- the only major labor group at the airline that has not reached a new contract -- have been in talks for almost two years on a new deal. Federal mediators have also been called in to help with the talks, which are currently in recess.
A Southwest spokeswoman said the deal submitted by the airline in February offers significant pay increases.
A member of the union negotiating team said Southwest has tried to broach its contract proposal directly to union members to force the union's hand. The union thinks it should wait to show its members a tentative deal struck by both sides, for which the rank and file could then vote.
Ginger Hardage, a Southwest spokeswoman, said in an interview that most senior flight attendants would see a 21 percent increase in pay over the course of the contract, which runs through 2008, while some junior flight attendants would see a 111 percent increase over the course of the deal.
"We are asking that they see the contract. We believe that with the level of increases that they would be getting, they would want the contract to take effect as soon as possible," Hardage said.
Cindy Ritner, a member of the negotiating team for Transport Workers Union Local 556, disputed the figures.
Labor talks at Southwest, although sometimes heated, have typically been marked by less acrimony than such talks at other airlines. Some people within and outside the company said the talks between Southwest and the flight attendants are presenting a challenge to the culture at the carrier.
Last week the union sent Southwest Chief Executive Jim Parker a letter that said it was willing to return to the bargaining table to discuss a new contract, but the union feels the airline appears to have given up on negotiations.
The union has said it is looking for increases comparable to what other labor groups reached with the carrier, which it said ranged between 6 percent and 7.5 percent per year.
NEVER FORGET, WITH AMFA, MEMBERS OBSERVE NEGOTIATIONS!
