© Reuters. Passengers examine in for a Southwest Airways flight at Orlando Worldwide Airport in Orlando, Florida, U.S., October 11, 2021 . REUTERS/Joe Skipper
(Reuters) – Southwest Airways (NYSE:) Co’s pilot union has referred to as for a strike authorization vote, weeks after a tech meltdown on the provider left tens of 1000’s of passengers stranded throughout the USA.
“It isn’t a call we’ve got taken frivolously, however given the trajectory of our present management group, we’ve got little religion within the stability and way forward for our airline,” Capt. Casey Murray, president of Southwest Airways Pilot Affiliation (SWAPA), which represents greater than 10,000 pilots, stated in a press release.
The strike authorization vote will happen starting Might 1 and will probably be counted on the finish of that month. Southwest didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
As main U.S. airways scramble to capitalize on booming client demand and with the trade returning to profitability, pilots in any respect main U.S. carriers have been demanding increased wages and a greater work-life stability.
Southwest pilots have been locked in talks over a brand new contract with the airline for practically three years.
Delta Air Traces Inc (NYSE:) supplied a 34% cumulative pay improve final month to its pilots over three years in a brand new contract after the Atlanta-based provider’s pilots voted overwhelmingly in October to authorize a strike.
Pilots have termed Delta’s provide as a benchmark for different contracts.
