Southwest Airlines flight attendants ratified a new labor contract. The four-year agreement will take effect May 1, providing 22.3% immediate raises paid based on how much flight attendants flew during the five-plus years of contract negotiations between TWU Local 556 and the airline. Union members approved the contract by 81% to 19%.
The new salaries will mean Southwest flight attendants are the highest paid in the industry, 14% more on average than Delta flight attendants, TWU said.
“This new TWU contract will resonate across the industry as carriers like United, Alaska and American negotiate with their flight attendants, who have been in negotiations with the Flight Attendants Union and the Professional Flight Attendants Association for several years,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said in a statement.
Members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American, voted last year to authorize a strike. In February representatives from all three unions picketed at 30-plus airports, around the same time that Alaska flight attendants concluded a strike-authorization vote, with 99.5% voting yes.
Southwest announced Thursday that in addition to providing industry-leading pay raises, the agreement includes improvements in on-call scheduling and other quality-of-life improvements, including company-paid maternity and parental leave.
“This agreement rewards our flight attendants and includes provisions that strengthen Southwest‘s operations,” said Adam Carlise, the carrier‘s vice president of labor relations.
