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Frequently Asked Questions
Reading Your Payroll Report
Q1: “What is the difference between a Payroll Report and payslip?”
Your Payroll Report is found in CWA and lists all your pairings and TFP for the bid month. It shows your total TFP for each “bucket” (Overtime, Regular, Sick, Vacation, etc.) and provides a grand total for the month. Your Payroll Report also has important information about your Sick Bank Total at the very bottom. You’ll find your Sick Bank Total at the beginning of the bid month, anticipated accrual for the bid month (Article 16.1.A), used Sick Bank TFP during that bid month, and your projected Sick Bank total at the close of the bid month. Your payslip (or paystub) can be found on Workday (SWALife > Workday). It is your “receipt” for your paycheck.
Your payslip lists your total earnings, gross pay, taxes withheld, insurance premiums, deductions (401k, Union dues, etc.), and your net pay (which is the amount of your direct deposit).
Q2: “I had an extended duty period where I was flying after being on duty over 12 hours. Where can I find this premium? If I was on Reserve, will my double time (2x) go towards the monthly Reserve guarantee?”
When a FA encounters a situation where a premium needs to be applied (i.e., extended duty period, unscheduled RON/stranded, Holiday Pay), the premium will not be reflected on your CWA trip screen. However, you can find it in the pairing breakdown on your Payroll Report.
The premium pay will be contained in the appropriate category (i.e., VJA (1.5x) = “OVER TIME” or “OVERTIME A”, Double Time (2x) = “DBL TIME” or “A DBL TIME”, Holiday Pay = “HOLIDAY”) or “bucket”, at the bottom of your Payroll Report. When a situation involving premium pay happens to a Reserve FA, the premium will be applied ON TOP of the monthly/block Reserve guarantee. You will see the straight-time compensation on scheduled Reserve days accounted for in the Reserve Summary, as this ensures that your assignments have been counted towards your guarantee and makes sure the RDV calculation for any remaining Reserve days/blocks is correct. Then in the totals at the bottom of your Payroll Report, you will find the compensation located in the appropriate bucket (i.e., “OVER TIME”) paying at the contractual premium rate.
Q3: “I sat 3:50 hours of APSB and was then assigned a pairing. My flying for that day was 2.41 TFP. Do I get pay for the time I spent sitting APSB???”
Your APSB (3.83 TFP) and flying assignment (2.41 TFP) will both be paid (6.24 TFP)! You will find both assignments listed with TFP associated on your Payroll Report. The total compensation will be included in the Reserve Summary for that day and be applied towards your monthly/block Reserve guarantee.
Q4: “Is there a way to keep track of my Reserve flying towards my monthly Reserve guarantee… or do I just need to keep adding up my trips in CWA?”
The easiest way to keep track of your monthly Reserve guarantee (originally assigned Reserve days x 6.5 TFP) or block/day Reserve guarantee (additional flying Reserve blocks), is by using the Reserve Summary on your Payroll Report. Each day of the monthly/block Reserve guarantee is listed with the TFP associated for all assignments on that day. At the bottom, you’ll see your monthly/block guarantee (# of Reserve days x 6.5 TFP), the TFP associated with assignments on those Reserve days, and the “Guarantee Credited” (or the remaining Reserve guarantee).
Note: If you pick up an additional block of flying (above the number of originally assigned Reserve days), the block or day guarantee will show in its own Reserve Summary. This helps you keep track of your different Reserve guarantees.
Q5: “I had 0.10 TFP of overfly on my PSP-SMF leg and 0.70 TFP of overfly on the LGB-OAK leg. Where is that extra compensation shown on my Payroll Report?”
When looking for overfly on our CWA trip or the Payroll Report, the overfly amount is added to the leg credit. If you look at the original pay for the leg credits in the Pairing Packet, you’ll see that flight 2012 PSP-SMF was scheduled to pay 1.70 TFP and flight 212 LGB-OAK was scheduled to pay 1.50 TFP. Both your CWA trip screen and Payroll Report are showing those legs paying 1.80 TFP and 2.20 TFP, respectively. This means that your trip screen on CWA and Payroll Report are showing the leg credit + overfly in the “Credit” column.
Q6: “I picked up a pairing for VJA over New Year’s Eve. I looked at CWA, and it doesn’t seem like I am being paid correctly! Which bucket (or buckets) do I need to looks at to make sure that my trip pays both the VJA and Holiday Pay?”
Your VJA (1.5x) will be in the “OVER TIME” or “OVERTIME A” (depending on the position flown) bucket. Remember that when flying for VJA, we are either paid what we fly (including premiums and overfly) -or- RIGs, whichever pays more. If the 1.5x pays more, you’ll find the leg credit total in the appropriate “OVER TIME” bucket with a “Rate” of 1.5x.
Q7: “I had a Reserve trip where I was originally assigned ‘C’ but ended up working one leg in the ‘A’ position. Where can I look to make sure that my ‘A’ pay has been added to my monthly compensation?”
When we work “A,” we are compensated $4.00 more for each trip flown or credited. (Article 21.4) In your situation, your total TFP for each day will be broken down on your Payroll Report and in the Reserve Summary. All the TFP associated with flying any other position than “A” will be found in the “REGULAR” bucket, and the TFP for the legs worked in “A” will be separated out and placed in the “REGULAR A” bucket.
Example: I worked a trip that paid 20.00 TFP. Most of the pairing, I worked “C,” but I ended up working two legs in “A.” Those two legs paid 5.00 TFP. I would find 15.00 TFP in the “REGULAR” bucket and 5.00 TFP in the “REGULAR A” bucket. My pairing paid a total of 20.00 TFP, but it is found in two separate buckets for pay purposes.
Q8: “I saw ‘Unutilized Reserve Compensation’ on my Payroll Report and payslip… what is that?”
If your total TFP for assignments on your Reserve days meets or exceeds your monthly/block guarantee prior to the last day of your Reserve obligation -and- you are not used on one or more of the remaining scheduled Reserve day(s), you will receive 3.00 TFP for each day remaining and not utilized. (Article 11.16.F)
Example: I have four 3-day blocks of Reserve (12 days) and my monthly Reserve guarantee is 78.00 TFP (12 days x 6.50 TFP = 78.00 TFP). On the first three blocks, I work incredibly productive trips. I enter my last block with 73.00 TFP credited towards my monthly guarantee. On day one of my final 3-day Reserve block for the month, I am assigned a turn that pays 6.50 TFP. When I get back to base, I am released from assignment and not used on day 2 and 3. I exceeded my monthly Reserve guarantee after the turn (73.00 TFP + 6.50 TFP = 79.50 TFP > 78.00 TFP). I will be compensated 3.00 TFP for both the second and third day of my block since I was required to be on call, but was not used. On the Reserve Summary of my Payroll Report, I will see “Unutilized Reserve Compensation”.
Q9: “What are the ‘hours’ listed on my Payroll Report and payslip? I thought we were paid by TFP!”
We received multiple “Inflight Information on the Go (IIOTG)” communications regarding the updated Flight Attendant Wage Statement and upgrade to payroll technology systems. The 03/31/22 communication from Mike Sims explains that this information will “detail the duty hours that are associated with Flight Attendant pay and calculates the corresponding effective hourly rates of pay.” This information came about because of California State legislation requiring all paychecks contain easy-to-read hourly wages to protect workers from wage theft. Airlines, including Southwest Airlines, asked to be exempt from this law and were denied, so they had to come up with a formula to calculate an hourly pay rate… when we are not paid an hourly wage. Because FAs can change bases as many times as they want, pick up flying out of domicile, and other States have similar laws under review, Southwest Airlines decided to include this information on all of our Payroll Reports and payslips, regardless of where we are based. It’s incredibly important to remember that this information does not affect the amount we are paid. To determine our compensation, we still take the TFP worked and multiply it by the rate of pay (dependent on your years of Inflight service) as listed in Article 21.1.
Q10: “What is the best way to estimate my total pay for the month?”
The best way to estimate your compensation for the month is to take the “TOTAL” TFP amount and multiply that by your rate of pay (Article 21.1). Then add in your per diem and any extra compensation, and that is a rough pre-tax and pre-deduction estimate for the month.
This FA worked 139.19 TFP for this month. They are currently on Step 3 and their rate of pay is $39.60. 139.19 TFP x $39.60 = $5,511.92. They would then add up the “extras”, which for this FA is the override (Article 21.18) and two different per diems (some per diem is taxable and others are not, so for accounting purposes, they are broken up into different buckets).
$5,511.92 (TFP compensation) + $876.00 (extras) = $6,387.92 pre-tax and pre-deductions for the month
Q11: “I have a flight scheduled for more than 4 hours. I don’t see the extra $20 per diem on my trip sheet. Has it not been applied?”
The “MEAL” per diem ($20) for scheduled flights of greater than 4 hours can be found on your Payroll Report only. Remember that this additional per diem is based on original flight times as published in the flight schedule and our bid packets. Being early on a flight originally scheduled for more than 4 hours or being delayed on a flight originally scheduled for less than 4 hours, will not affect the additional $20.
Q12: “How will I know if the EDD premium (2x or 3x) has been paid above RIGs?”
The EDD premium will not show on your CWA trip screen (this is not a change). However, you can still find the 2x or 3x on the Payroll Report. When you look at the “Buckets”, you will then find the premium in its applicable premium bucket paying at an increased rate (i.e., DBL TIME, A DBL TIME, TPL TIME, A TPL TIME).
Q13: “What does Extended Ground Time (ExGTP) look like on my Payroll Report?”
ExGTP is shown as its own bucket (“GROUND TIME PAY” or “GROUND TIME A PAY”).
Q14: “I’m on Reserve and flying in ‘A’ position. We are currently sitting ground time in excess of 150 minutes and I have been reassigned to work the next leg in ‘C’ position. Will I be paid ‘A’ pay for ExGTP?”
Yes, because you worked the “A” position inbound on Reserve and then sat ground time, the ExGTP will be compensated with the “A” pay and be contained in the “GROUND TIME A PAY” bucket. If you had worked another position inbound, sat ground time, and then were reassigned to work “A” pay after the extended sit, you would not receive the “A” pay for ExGTP.
Q15: “If I have the Last Day Late Premium (LDLP) pay applied, how will it reflect?”
LDLP will show as its own line item and bucket (“LD” and “LDA”). This process has now been automated and should be reflected on your Payroll Report appropriately in real time. Inflight Payroll Audit will continue to review pairings for correct compensation as needed.
Q16: “I’m looking at my Payroll Report, where can I find the Late Return Override (LRO)?”
LRO will show as its own line item and bucket (“LRO” and “LROA”). This process has now been automated and should be reflected on your Payroll Report appropriately in real time. Inflight Payroll Audit will continue to review pairings for correct compensation as needed.
Q17: “We pushed back from the gate in STL and sat on the tarmac for 20 minutes before returning to the gate. Do I get any extra pay for my time on the tarmac and gate return?”
Yes. Gate return pay protections can be found in Article 21.3.C. It’s important to note that with the Pink Contract, gate return pay will be 0.10 TFP per every 5 minutes in excess of the flight’s scheduled block time. This compensation is paid in addition to the following leg credit, unless a RIG pays greater. For your 20 minute sit on the tarmac, you will be paid an additional 20 minutes / 5 minutes = 4 x 0.10 TFP = 0.40 TFP.
NOTE: Gate returns are processed manually by Inflight Payroll Audit and/or Scheduling Research. This means that the “GR” code and compensation will likely not reflect correctly for a couple of days following the completion of flying.
If you have questions about a pairing for which Payroll Audit has completed the audit process (labeled “Audit Complete”), email the TWU Local 556 Reschedule, Research, and Analysis Committee at:
RAC@staging1.twu556.org
Payroll By Date Range
After many conversations and at the urging of TWU Local 556, Inflight Payroll Audit has added another functionality to our Payroll Reports — the ability to see the breakdown of each individual pairing! When auditing to ensure correct compensation for an assignment, we have always had to take into account our entire month’s TFP to determine whether all of our pay was contained within the correct “bucket” and paying at the correct rate of pay. Starting on 10/19/2023, you gained the ability to see the compensation and appropriate “bucket” breakdown for all of your assignments by date range, if you choose.
Q1: “What do I need to do if I want to see a breakdown of a certain pairing?”
CWA (www.swacrew.com) > “Reports” > “Payroll By Date Range”
Q2: “Can I breakdown more than one pairing in the selected date range?”
As long as the pairings are within the same bid month, yes. The system does not currently have the functionality to cross over to different bid months..
Q3: “I have a trip on October 31 – November 2. How would I look at this trip’s breakdown?”
You will need to look at October 31 by itself and then also pull up November 1-2. While it won’t be a complete pairing breakdown, you will be able to see the compensation specific to that pairing in the respective buckets for each bid month