PHOENIX — Thousands of off-duty Southwest Airlines flight attendants across the country are planning to picket Tuesday, including at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
The flight attendants are members of TWU Local 556, the union of 18,000-plus flight attendants of Southwest Airlines.
The union said they need a new contract, and they are taking the fight to the picket lines.
Off-duty flight attendants will gather with other supporters to demand what they consider better pay, safety on the job, and improved quality of life through a new contract with their employer, Southwest Airlines.
The union said the collective bargaining agreement it holds with Southwest Airlines became amenable almost four years ago. Flight attendants are demanding a new collective bargaining agreement that addresses the issues they feel are plaguing them and impacting their abilities to do their jobs.
Some of those changes they listed include paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding and when they’re required to work outside of hours originally scheduled, providing access to food and a safe place to rest while on the job, and providing benefits like health insurance that continues coverage when an employee is injured on the job, is battling cancer, or had a baby.
“Then, we add to that the pandemic, the safety and security issues that we have been, you know, dealt with passenger aggression, and then the health and safety issues that revolve around again, not having adequate rest or place, the sleep being sleeping on an airport floor,” said TWU Local 556 member and Phoenix-based Southwest Airlines flight attendant Michael Massoni. “All of these things have come to a head, and it is time for Southwest to make it right.”
Southwest Airlines sent the following statement to ABC15 in response to the planned picketing:
“Southwest Airlines has an award-winning Culture that respects our Employees and encourages them to express their opinions. Informational picketing is common during contract negotiations, and we do not anticipate any disruption in service resulting from the demonstration planned by off-duty Flight Attendants. Southwest looks forward to continuing negotiations with TWU 556 and the National Mediation Board so that we can reward our Flight Attendants and continue attracting great talent.”
The informational picket will be at Terminal 4 Level 2, east of Door 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Phoenix Sky Harbor. The airport is one of 11 bases across the country where one of these pickets will be held.
