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A worker directs a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 passenger jet as it recedes from a gate at Midway International Airport (MDW) in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on Monday, October 11, 2021.
Luke Charette | bloomberg | Getty Images
Southwest Airlines Friday said it had reached a preliminary agreement with the union representing mechanics, aircraft inspectors, maintenance controllers and training instructors.
The agreement, which covers more than 2,800 employees, will still need the approval of those workers.
“Our mechanics and associated personnel work around the clock to safely maintain our aircraft, and we’ve reached a preliminary agreement that rewards them and helps Southwest maintain efficient operation,” Adam Carlyle, Southwest’s vice president of labor relations, said in a statement. press release.
The union and the airline did not immediately disclose details of the agreement, but said they would in the coming days.
Brett Oestrich, National President of the Fraternity of Aircraft Mechanics, said the guild’s goal and goal is to protect employment, raise standards, and increase recognition for AMTs and related professionals.
Meanwhile, negotiations for new contracts between Southwest and the unions representing its pilots and flight attendants remain pending.
Earlier this month, leaders in the Transportation Workers Federation of America 556, which represents Southwest flight attendants, said they rejected an agreement in principle that would have allowed voting on membership. The union said the federal mediators and interested parties would not meet again until Jan. 16.
“We are proud of the agreement in principle reached by the Southwest negotiating teams and TWU 556, and we are very disappointed to learn that the Executive Board of TWU 556 voted against it,” Southwest’s Carlisle said in a statement.
Last week, the local executive council told members: “Your TWU Local 556 Executive Council did not take this decision lightly. As members, we are absolutely anxious to vote and ratify a worthwhile principle agreement.”
Aside from the airline industry, workers across the board were striving for better compensation and better labor rules, and many of their efforts culminated in strikes. Despite permits to strike in some airline associations, such actions are extremely rare in the industry and require federal involvement.
Starting Friday in Seattle, nearly 3,500 workers in some Starbucks Stores at more than 150 locations across the US have pledged to strike in the wake of a public dispute between the coffee giant and the union representing its baristas over allegations that the company banned Pride Month decorations in its coffee shops.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has agreed to strike permission in UPS In the event that the union and the company do not reach a new labor agreement. The current national contract is set to expire after July 31.
Southwest shares fell nearly 1% Friday afternoon.
CNBC channel Leslie Josephs Contribute to this article.
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