Thread: SWA Picketing...

Baggage handlers and other ground workers at Southwest Airlines plan to picket a company meeting in downtown Phoenix on Thursday to protest some of the airline's contract proposals.
Members of the Transport Workers Union Local 555, who have been in negotiations with the airline since 2011, the past year with the assistance of a federal mediator, are upset about Southwest's proposal to hire contract workers and to expand the number of part-time workers, among other issues.Charles Cerf, who has worked for Southwest for 32 years, said the move to contract workers in particular would hurt Southwest's cutomer service because the workers won't be as vested in the company's success as company employees. He said Southwest's longtime recipe has been to take care of employees so they will go the extra mile to take care of customers.
"This is what's grown this airline from 40 planes (in the early 1980s) to a fleet of 600 today," he said. "We've kind of gotten away from that."
In a statement, Southwest said, "We've taken care of our employees for 42 years and we will continue to do so. We are not looking to outsource current Southwest jobs. We need the ability to add flexibility by utilizing part-time and seasonal employees when extra help is needed."
The union, which represents 10,000 Southwest ground workers including 500 in Phoenix, also said Southwest's staffing in some cities is inadequate given the airline's addition of Boeing 737-800s, which carry more passengers and bags than its traditional Boeing 737-700s.
"They're not adding any extra people for the larger aircraft," he said. Currently SWA is dead last in on time arrivals..