President of Southwest Airlines Pilot Union Stepping Down
November 10 2015 - 6:50PM
Dow Jones News
A week after a majority of the pilots at Southwest Airlines Co.,
rejected a proposed four-year labor contract, their union president
said he will step down at the end of December, only halfway through
his two-year term.
According to a spokesman for the Southwest Airlines Pilots'
Association, Capt. Paul Jackson said in a letter to the union's
board that "an institutional change in direction…is required after
a failed tentative agreement ratification." The four members of the
union's negotiating committee also are resigning and will go back
to full-time flying on Jan. 1, Capt. Jackson said in the
letter.
Last week, nearly 62% of Southwest's 8,000 pilots voted against
the new contract even though it would have raised their wages by
more than 17% over the term. Just 38% of the ballots cast were in
favor of the deal, reached after three years of bargaining. The
voted mirrored an even wider rejection of a new contract in July by
Southwest's flight attendants. Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots in July
also voted down a new deal, and their leader quickly resigned.
In the coming days, about 9,000 mechanics at United Continental
Holdings Inc. are expected to vote on a proposed six-year
agreement. More than 14,000 customer-service and reservations
agents at American Airlines Group Inc., currently are deciding
whether to ratify a new deal.
The labor discord comes as airlines are producing record profits
and employees are seeking richer compensation. But airlines want to
hold the line on their No. 1 cost, which is labor. And many
employees, particularly those whose companies have gone through
bankruptcy-court proceedings in the past, want to make up for
concessions they made in grimmer times. Southwest, which never has
restructured in court, has some of the highest pay and benefits in
the industry.
Southwest's Capt. Jackson, 51 years old, started his two-year
term in January of this year. As a result of his pending departure,
an election will be held next month to select a person to fill out
the remainder of his term, the union spokesman said. Another
election will be called next fall to select a leader for the next
two years. "It is time to bargain from a position of strength and
unity as a group," the departing pilot leader said in his letter to
the board.
Write to Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 10, 2015 19:35 ET (00:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2024 to Oct 2024
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2023 to Oct 2024