Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants Picket

The Albuquerque Journal (subscription required) ^ | August 14, 2003 | T.A. Badger (the Associated Press)

[CedarDave]

Thursday, August 14, 2003

Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants Picket

By T.A. Badger

The Associated Press

    SAN ANTONIO, Texas— Flight attendants from Southwest Airlines are touring airports to tell passengers about turbulence in negotiations for a new labor contract with the carrier.
    About two dozen of Southwest's 7,200 flight attendants picketed outside San Antonio International Airport on Tuesday on the first day of their "Tough LUV Tour." LUV is the Dallas-based airline's symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.
    Among their complaints are lack of pension and retirement insurance plans and what they call a requirement unique among major carriers: the attendants clean their plane between flights without pay.
    The Transport Workers Union Local 556, which represents the bargaining unit, estimates that the typical Southwest flight attendant works nearly 300 hours a year without compensation. A Chicago-based flight attendant, said she worked nearly six hours for free during a three-day shift this week.
    Southwest spokeswoman Ginger Hardage said, "Our flight attendants are paid by the trip, and the philosophical thinking is that the (ground) duties are included within that pay."
    Hardage said Southwest is committed to preserving a cost structure that has allowed it to weather a prolonged industry downturn that devastated many of its rivals. Southwest is the only major U.S. carrier to remain profitable during the downturn.
    Kevin Onstead, one of the union's negotiators, said flight attendants also are seeking "significant" pay raises, though he wouldn't say how much. He and Buggy say they work substantial overtime to get their annual pay up to about $35,000.
    A new flight attendant at Southwest makes about $14,000 per year.
    Attendants received their last negotiated raise in 2000 in a contract that ran through June 2002.
    Picketing moved to Austin and Dallas Wednesday and today; it will continue in Southern California next week. There are no plans for picketing in Albuquerque.

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[CedarDave]

A new flight attendant at Southwest makes about $14,000 per year.

Wow. Hope there are some other perks involved (like meeting rich businessmen).

(Searched and didn't see posted.)

[You Dirty Rats]

At least they don't have to wear bright orange hotpants with wide white belts these days.

More's the pity.

[Wright is right!]

The $14,000 figger seems comically low for Southwest's unions to have EVER agreed to in the first place. I'm thinking that's not correct.

I'm also bothered by this latest turn of events in light of the historically close relationships Southwest has maintained with its unions. It's one of the hallmarks of the Southwest Airlines Culture that the company and the unions really get along with each other. Air Herbie insisted on it.

Perhaps this li'l group of FA's has some Southwest newbies in it or that someone in the union has decided to buck the game plan and stir up trouble. But this kind of thing is very un-Southwest.

Michael

[CedarDave]

They still look good in summer shorts!

[Mr. Jeeves]

The $14,000 is probably about right, since it's based on dollars per flight hour and they probably aren't working anywhere near 40 hours a week.

[Wright is right!]

"The $14,000 is probably about right, since it's based on dollars per flight hour and they probably aren't working anywhere near 40 hours a week."

I understand the basis, but if SW were staying in the black by paying its FA's poverty-level wages, I think we'd have heard about it LONG before now. I'll wait for someone with a definitivo answero.

Michael

[Proud_texan]

It looks like for a new flight attendent it's $14.67 a trip (243 miles) per the SWA site (http://www.iflyswa.com/careers/flight_attendant.html).

Dunno how many trips one can do in a day but I think there's some sort of FAA limit on the length of a duty day but it seems to depend on how much you're willing to work.

I know a couple of pilots and SW pilots make about 20-30% less in salary than other airlines but they get a load of stock options. One guy I know that's been there about ten years has about a million bucks in options, all in the money (or so he says). Don't know if this applies to other workers, but SW seems to be very generous in that area.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Years ago I was surprised and disappointed to learn that SW had agreed to unions. That wasn't the case in the beginning. Unions and Democrats have a similar trait - you never gain a thing, you only lose, by giving in to them.

[SamAdams76]

I never understood why pay for stewardesses was always so low. I'm also amazed that the airlines don't have any problem finding people to work at those wages! You could make more at Burger King. I also don't understand the appeal for the job. I mean, it doesn't look like much fun to me. Such as pushing a beverage cart up and down a narrow aisle on a crowded airplane. What's the appeal in that? I'd rather sell hot dogs in the stand at Fenway park. Probably make more money too.

[jocko12]

AND THE OTHER MAJOR AIRLINES ARE GOING BARKRUPT = NO JOBS!!!!

[pabianice]

Way to go! Soon Southwest can be bankrupted by impossible wage demands, just like all the other US airlines! And guess what? A bankrupt airline's labor contracts all get flushed down the crapper!

[al_c]

14K per year, no pension/retirement insurance plans, unpaid overtime. Now we know how SW remains profitable.

[TXnMA]

At least they don't have to wear bright orange hotpants with wide white belts these days.

More's the pity.

Yep! In its early days when Southwest had barely enough planes to fly only the "Golden Triangle loop", (Dallas-Houston-Austin-Dallas) it was worth flying it for the sheer pleasure! They called themselves, "Someone else up there who loves you..." -- and did their best to prove it.

The FA's ("Stews" in those days) not only wore mini-hot pants, they were selected for youth, looks, personality and figure. (SWA is where the girls who nowadays are Cowboy Cheerleaders apparently wound up...).

I made frequent trips between our Dallas and Houston plants, and got to know most of the girls fairly well. One time, when I took my senior engineer with me, I asked the crew to give him "special attention". The wheels weren't off the ground at Love Field before he had a free drink in his hand -- and the girls made sure his drink was never empty.

When they passed by and his drink was still full, they would run their fingers over his bald head -- or plant a lipsticky smack on it.

At the end of that 50-minute flight, I practically had to carry -- or drag -- the guy off that plane. He worked for me another dozen years or so, and he never stopped talking about how wonderful it was to fly Southwest Airlines.

Then, along came the feminazi movement...

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Those drinks were "Luv potions", remember? Don't forget the boots, either.

[TXnMA]

Don't forget the boots, either.

Boots? What remains in the ol' eidetic memory bank are the outstanding advertisements for "L'eggs" that spanned between the boots and the hotpants...

[Salvation]

They should be glad they have a job.