No love at Love Field

[WorldTraveler]

when was the last time WN employees picketed during contract talks?

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/03/southwest-airlines-ground-employees-picket-at-dallas-love-field.html/

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

I cannot remember a time. The statement from the TWU local in that article is well written.

 

[Kev3188]

...The last paragraph in particular...

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

...The last paragraph in particular...

It is worth a reposted quote here:

"“By refusing to reward employees for their contribution to our airlines’ success, management is taking a terrible wrong turn from Southwest Airlines’ past emphasis on putting employees first and maintaining positive labor relations. Southwest passengers have a right to know about management’s plan to downgrade the quality of service they receive. That’s why our members will be conducting informational picketing and leafleting in 16 cities across the country on March 28.”

If more union leaders would promote the service the members provide rather than attack the company, they would eventually get the public on their side.

I wonder if the gate agents are members of the TWU?

Sharon in SAT?

 

[Kev3188]

Agree 100%.

BTW, gate agents are IAM...

 

[WorldTraveler]

Yet WN employees are the highest paid airline employees in the US and for years we have heard that increased unionization leads to increased pay.

Is it possible that the fundamental reason why WN is no longer going to continue to shell out top of the industry pay raises and profit sharing is that those are no longer economically justifiable? Sure it is.

WN's workforce is more senior, its growing network now includes parts of the US where efficient operations are far harder to accomplish, and it is impossible to continue to add cities that could support the number of flights that WN once said were necessary to profitably operate a station.

WN can stop growing but then watch its costs increase even more dramatically. They can get rid of their most senior employees or slash major pay and benefit items for existing employees, the only viable ways to cut labor costs on its existing network. Or it can change the terms of employment, largely scope, while protecting pay and benefits.

WN is focusing its cost-reducing efforts on scope – where the biggest fights have occurred between labor and mgmt at legacy airlines with mgmt largely winning those battles.
What is irrefutable is that WN’s business model does not support the traditional “WN employee contract” – written or implied - that has been at the heart of WN since it was founded.

 

[gizmo_sc]

Big discussion over on www.airliners.net about this http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5725588/

Many folks have no idea what is going on with WN in this area. Looks like from the pics
the information pickets have begun with select cities across the country.

 

[WorldTraveler]

What is going on is that WN is recognizing it cannot continue to raise salaries which is what long-time WN employees have become accustomed to. In contrast, WN is looking at market price driven alternatives to get its work done, and the ramp is often the area of a company with the greatest disparity between direct airline employees and what an airline can pay to do the same work (or reasonably comparable) using contractors.

Supposedly, UA proposed to eliminate ramp employees (or have the right to do so) in all but the largest dozen and a half or so cities in the contract that just got shot down.

 

[LD3]

Could SW play the BK card just to slash labor costs?

 

[WNMECH]

Could SW play the BK card just to slash labor costs?

No.
Just check out LUV balance sheet on your favorite financial web site.

On top of that, how could a company that has had 40 straight years of profits claim to be bankrupt.

 

[LD3]

No.
Just check out LUV balance sheet on your favorite financial web site.

On top of that, how could a company that has had 40 straight years of profits claim to be bankrupt.

There's no disputing LUV's balance sheet or their ability to turn a profit for years on end, but it appears that the BK laws make it an advantage for the airlines to bend labor over. AA may have been bleeding but they had some serious cash on hand when they entered....

 

[WNMECH]

There's no disputing LUV's balance sheet or their ability to turn a profit for years on end, but it appears that the BK laws make it an advantage for the airlines to bend labor over. AA may have been bleeding but they had some serious cash on hand when they entered....

They also were showing years of losses not just a couple quarters.
The AMR balance sheet prior to BK is still available to view and shows they were very much underwater regardless of how much cash they could hoard before filing.
SWA is a healthy company producing profits quarter after quarter.
No comparison to AMR prior to their filing.

Though SWA is not showing the ROIC that they would like to see, they are not going bankrupt.

 

[Kev3188]

I don't think anyone would deny that for a second. That said, no one on here needs to tell you that the organization is certainly evolving (devolving) from what you've known for years. Increasing costs, an aging workforce, slowing growth and more. With each day WN looks more and more like a legacy. The climb to keep that streak going is getting steeper and steeper.

Would they file just to break CBA's? I doubt it. Is it a "tool" available to them at some point? Maybe...

 

[WNMECH]

I don't think anyone would deny that for a second. That said, no one on here needs to tell you that the organization is certainly evolving (devolving) from what you've known for years. Increasing costs, an aging workforce, slowing growth and more. With each day WN looks more and more like a legacy. The climb to keep that streak going is getting steeper and steeper.

Would they file just to break CBA's? I doubt it. Is it a "tool" available to them at some point? Maybe...

It might be steeper but those boys over at headquarters are like the energizer bunny staying on top of the game.
They keep going and going.

You will see no resting on laurels over there.

 

[555_in_PDX]

Ok peeps here is our plight...

1. We haven't even discussed wages so lets get that straight. The company has told our negotiators that they want to keep wage scales flat. GK has been quoted as saying thet we have literally made millions because of bags fly free. Really? I think that deserves at least a cost of living raise. Look at the Wall Street projections for SWA future earnings.
   
2. SWA wants to outsource 20% of our work force. Based on the legacies we all now how that ends up.
   
3. SWA wants to take away our sick bank hours that employees whom are close to retirement are counting on to pay their medical benefits.
   
4. Our negotiastors have been disrespected at the table and our members needed to show that they speak for us. Personally I am proud of every member that walked the line on March 28, 2013.

TWU Local 555 represents Ramp, Ops (gate), Provisioning, and Freight Agents of Southwest Airlines...