Southwest files suit against its union
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines has raised the stakes in a showdown with its union of aircraft mechanics by filing a lawsuit over what it claims is an illegal work slowdown that is grounding planes and disrupting flights.
It is Southwest’s second lawsuit in three years against the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association and the result of raw feelings on both sides after more than six years of fruitless contract negotiations.
The airline filed the lawsuit late Thursday in federal district court in Dallas.
Southwest charges that some workers are pulling planes out of service for minor mechanical items to gain leverage in contract talks.
Union representatives did not respond to requests for comment late Thursday or Friday. In previous interviews, they have denied organizing a work slowdown, and have countered that Southwest maintenance supervisors have pressured mechanics to approve planes for flight, which they say is a safety hazard.
Southwest said in the lawsuit that it normally has 14 planes out of service on an average day, but the number has spiked as high as 62 in recent days.
The airline said the rising rate of mechanical issues began after a recent bargaining session between the company and the union. A federal mediator is trying to bring the sides together.
Dallas-based Southwest sued the same union in February 2017, claiming that it was behind a refusal by mechanics to work overtime. That lawsuit is still pending.
Southwest has struggled to respond effectively to the latest dispute with the union, which represents the carrier’s 2,400 mechanics.
Last month, Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven publicly apologized to customers for flight delays and cancellations, blaming them on mechanics who were grounding a high number of planes.
The airline imposed emergency procedures that included threatening to fire mechanics who didn’t get a doctor’s note after calling in sick or refused to work overtime. Vacation requests were put on hold.
Some employees believed the emergency measure was retaliation for mechanics going to federal regulators and the media with their safety concerns. One of the union’s lawyers said Southwest had provided no evidence of a work slowdown, and that mechanics were doing their jobs as required by federal safety regulations.
The airline’s CEO might have thought that some fence-mending was needed. In a Feb. 22 letter to all Southwest employees, CEO Gary Kelly called the mechanics “extraordinary” and said “they have been especially heroic in getting aircraft returned to service over the last two weeks.” He said the mechanics deserve a new contract, and blamed all sides for the lack of one.
