Southwest Airlines flight attendants overwhelming reject proposed contract

[WNMECH]

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/southwest-airlines-flight-attendants-overwhelming-reject-proposed-contract.html/



......Votes......Percentage

Yes ...1,446......12.7%
No ....9,916......87.3%
Total. 11,362.....100.0%



The preliminary results means that seven of every eight flight attendants who voted were against the deal.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Wow. Labor discord in the airline industry is growing

 

[WorldTraveler]

Wow. Labor discontent is growing in the airline industry

 

[Kev3188]

Labor discontent is growing across all sectors of employment...

 

[Birdman]

Wow. Labor discontent is growing in the airline industry

You cannot say the industry has not changed in the 40+ years WN has been in business and that all work groups have not adapted to those changes within past negotiation frameworks. The factors that makes the WN unionized workforce resistant is how proposed changes are damaging the culture the founders successfully put in place. I don't know, but how many times did Herb intervene and make concessions on managements side that resulted in a boost in the "Warrior Spirit" that made Southwest great? Herb quotes, along with pictures of him with the common folk,  are memorialized on wall's all over the place only to be seemingly ignored by current  management. Upper management may say and think they are putting employee's first, as Herb did, but in reality it seems they are sadly becoming just like the legacy compAAny I came from. Let's hope talks with not only the F/A's, but all workgroups in negotiations, can sit across the table from a management team the conveys a real and genuine desire to put them first. 

 

[WorldTraveler]

and WN has never had to directly compete against legacy carriers as much as it does now

WN pays its people the highest on average of all US airlines. They cannot continue paying a labor premium if there is no productivity and revenue generation premium of a comparable amount to go with it.

It was easy for Herb to pay big salaries when there were few topped out employees and no retirees but both of those are realities now.

I know full well that WN employees want to continue to see their salaries increase. No one wants to admit they won't see much more money but will have to work harder. WN is flying larger aircraft and needs FAs to show up on them earlier. DL wants its pilots to be more productive. By word here, WN wants work rule changes for its mechanics. The trend is obvious. Airlines aren't going to keep increasing salaries while not asking for increased productivity.

as for workers across the board, a quick look over the Atlantic shows that there are tens of millions of workers that are out of work and are seeing their social benefits cut.

Salaries only grow when economies grow - whether that be companies or countries. Economic growth even in the US is tepid at best and non-existent in many parts of the world. Revenue numbers for the US airlines have validated that cheap fuel is what is driving profits and they can't be counted on to be there for years to come or are something that labor should profit from.

 

[Birdman]

and WN has never had to directly compete against legacy carriers as much as it does now

You totally missed my cultural premise. Just because we compete more with the legacy's doesn't mean their dismal cultures should be adopted. Few people will ever understand the culture that made WN great without working for them. 

 

[WorldTraveler]

actually I didn't.

other airlines have a whole lot of cultural positives.

I totally appreciate that you are proud of WN and you should

Other carriers including some of the legacies built very strong legacies that existed long before WN. AA, DL, and UA all are still here because they have cultures that allowed their stakeholders (which includes employees) to rally to overcome enormous challenges.

WN is a great company.

But WN simply does not have the ability to continue to shell out the pay raises that Herb did.

Neither do other airlines, esp. because airline workers are still paid well above average compared to similar peers elsewhere in American industry. WN employees and DL pilots - who also rejected their TA - have expectations that I predict will never be satisfied via the collective bargaining process.

Be optimistic. But also be realistic about what can be achieved.

 

[CMH_GSE]

Can someone in the know , a SW FA maybe, opine on why it was rejected, the main reason, or reasons?

 

[swamt]

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/southwest-airlines-flight-attendants-overwhelming-reject-proposed-contract.html/



......Votes......Percentage

Yes ...1,446......12.7%
No ....9,916......87.3%
Total. 11,362.....100.0%



The preliminary results means that seven of every eight flight attendants who voted were against the deal.

I commend the membership for their participation as well as their resounding "no" vote.  4 groups left and all are in mediation or on ice.  Good luck to all the F/A's.  Looks to me like the lead nego needs to get more "in touch" with the membership or get replaced.  I still remember her video stating that this TA took care of all the memberships needs and wants.  With an 87% "no" vote from 89% of the membership voting shows the exact opposite.  There have been talks of replacing the TWU for the F/A's and this topic is sure to start up and fly again as the TWU was way, WAY out of touch.  It is quite obvious that the pres and lead nego was working more on the companies side than the memberships.  She should be the first to go in my opinion...

 

[SharoninSAT]

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/southwest-airlines-flight-attendants-overwhelming-reject-proposed-contract.html/



......Votes......Percentage

Yes ...1,446......12.7%
No ....9,916......87.3%
Total. 11,362.....100.0%



The preliminary results means that seven of every eight flight attendants who voted were against the deal.

 

I commend the membership for their participation as well as their resounding "no" vote.  4 groups left and all are in mediation or on ice.  Good luck to all the F/A's.  Looks to me like the lead nego needs to get more "in touch" with the membership or get replaced.  I still remember her video stating that this TA took care of all the memberships needs and wants.  With an 87% "no" vote from 89% of the membership voting shows the exact opposite.  There have been talks of replacing the TWU for the F/A's and this topic is sure to start up and fly again as the TWU was way, WAY out of touch.  It is quite obvious that the pres and lead nego was working more on the companies side than the memberships.  She should be the first to go in my opinion...

 
Thanks for posting the article WNMECH.
Good for the FA's! I also commend the membership 
for their participation as well as their resounding "no". 
Yes, there is more to a contract than just pay…
 
 
 
 

 

[swamt]

Here's more on the F/A's as why they rejected the TA...
 
Southwest flight attendants ponder CEO Gary Kelly's next move after contract vote