TWU Local 556 Negotiation Update #22

Your Negotiating Committee met with the Company for a three-day session this week on February 25-27.

Day One:
The Company, on the first day of this session, provided counterproposals for Article 15: Leave of Absence, Article 16: Sick Leave/OJI, and Article 35: Hotel Standards. There was little to no movement in any of these Company passes, which were counterproposals in name only. The Company also presented a proposal for Article 10: Scheduling/Bidding and opened Article 18: Reduction in Force, which the parties had previously agreed would remain at current book. The Company explained it opened this article because of a touchpoint for a Time Away Program, which was presented in its Article 10 proposal. In the afternoon, your team provided counterproposals for Article 28: Scheduling Policy, Article 29: Domiciles, and presented what we hoped would be a tentative agreement to Article 18. Unfortunately, the Company refused to execute a tentative agreement for Article 18, choosing instead to leave the article open until any Time Away Program was fully negotiated.

Day Two:
The parties took day two to caucus. Your team utilized the caucus day and prepared counters for Article 15: Leave of Absence, Article 16: Sick Leave/OJI, and Article 35: Hotel Standards.

Day Three:
On day three, the teams met in the morning, and we presented the counterproposals prepared the day prior. The Company provided no proposals or counters this day. In the afternoon, the Company wanted to give a presentation on safety, mostly on our Safety Management System (SMS), with two of their subject matter experts (SMEs), Dave Hunt and Tom Rafalski who are the Sr. Director, Safety Management System and Sr. Manager, Safety Standard and Regulatory Compliance, respectively. We had Operational Safety Chairperson Michael Massoni and Operational Safety Co-Chairperson Jannah Dalak attend with us to digest the presentation as our subject matter experts (SMEs). While we appreciated the time taken by Dave and Tom to provide the presentation, your team, with a copy of the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General (OIG) report in hand, adamantly disagreed with their assessment of our current safety culture and lack of contractual protections. We advised the Company, in no uncertain terms, safety was of paramount concern to our workgroup, and we could not comprehend why the Company continues to resist codifying language that would help establish a clear message to our Members that Southwest Airlines truly believes safety is their number one priority. 

On January 8, 2020, Mike Van De Ven, when speaking about our new Operational Philosophy, of which safety is at the top of the list, said:

“We will always put safety first…” and, “This Ops Philosophy has always been part of our Southwest DNA, and we are codifying it into our manuals, training, and day-to-day execution to support our Southwest Team. It’s centered on how we think about Safety, Hospitality, Low Cost, and Reliability. You all are part of our Southwest Team, and our Operational Philosophy will reinforce the standard of how we want to operate as a Team.” 

It would appear that while the Company works diligently to say the right things when it comes to safety, its actions tell a different story altogether.  Remember, we must be wary of what the Company says; and instead, watch carefully what it actually does. The Company originally informed us it would be providing a counterproposal for Article 25 after the presentation, but following passionate table discussions related to the diminished safety culture, it appeared the Company may have had more components it needed to evaluate to ensure the safety of our workgroup is never in question. Our team has made it abundantly clear that your Union would not relent in its determination to uphold the safety and well-being of its Members. 

There was a noticeable change in the Company’s demeanor this week, which took a turn from the path of productivity and meaningful discussion that have been mentioned in previous updates. The Company has started passing counters with negligible movement in an apparent effort to artificially bolster the appearance of its Negotiation Scorecard. While it is undoubtedly important to keep track of where the parties stand with each article, we will not allow the Company to place form squarely over substance. We are concerned that the Company has become more focused on the fallacy of its scorecard and of satisfying its self-imposed deadline of March to have all of its articles on the table. We share a desire to negotiate in a productive and expedient fashion; however, simply passing proposals without meaningful movement is more akin to surface bargaining than actual negotiation.

Again, we must watch what the Company does—its actions speak volumes. We are focused on substantive negotiations designed to provide you with the right deal with which to vote upon. We are truly hopeful the Company will recognize the need to make actual progress instead of focusing on artificial deadlines and trivial movement.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for March 3-5.

The views contained herein do not necessarily represent those of TWU Local 556 or TWU International. The purpose of this email communication is intended only to educate and inform TWU Local 556 Members. It is not intended to officially establish or clarify past practice, Contract language, or grievance/arbitration positions. It is therefore not to be utilized or relied upon by any person or party as evidence of the Union’s position on any past practices, Contract language, grievances/arbitrations, or any other disputes or issues between TWU Local 556 and Southwest Airlines.