Airlines and labor unions are in a cold war of agreeing in public, but working behind the scenes against each other.
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Southwest Airlines Unions
Over the last couple of weeks, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) has filed suit against the airline they work for and then many pilot sick leave increased – it is cold and flu season – starting the day the suit was filed. Southwest blamed the issue of flight cancellations on weather and air traffic control (ATC.) The union was asked for public comment and they denied any organized industrial action.
There are two reasons why Southwest Airlines can’t, doesn’t, or won’t acknowledge publicly that they have workers performing sick-outs. The first reason is public relations with the unions.
If the unions are stating to the press that they are not organizing illegal strikes, it would be poor form to call them liars to the media. In some ways, the tall tales Southwest told the public were actually out of respect to the unions who said that sick-outs were not taking place. They had an opportunity to throw the unions under the bus but chose not to. For example, here was the line Southwest sold to the newspapers and social media:
“Air Traffic Control (ATC) issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend as we work to recover our operation. We…