Southwest Airlines Pilots Union Requests Federal Mediation in Contract Talks
Source: WSJ
By SUSAN CAREY
After more than two years of negotiations on a new labor agreement, the union that represents 8,000 Southwest Airlines Co. pilots said it officially filed for mediation Thursday with the National Mediation Board, the federal agency that oversees contract talks in the airline and railroad industries.
Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association said the two sides “are currently too far apart to realistically expect an agreement outside of a mediated process.”
In a statement, Capt. Mark Richardson, the union president, said requesting mediation is ”certainly not a typical step in the pilot and management relationship at Southwest Airlines. But times have certainly changed.”
The Transport Workers Union, which represents 10,000 Southwest ramp and cargo workers, already has filed for mediation. The International Association of Machinists union, agent for Southwest’s customer-service and reservations agents, also filed for mediation. But the latter group reached a tentative agreement in October on a four-year labor contract and members are slated to vote on the deal Dec. 2.
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Read more: http://online.wsj.com/articles/southwest-airlines-pilots-union-requests-federal-mediation-in-contract-talks-1416501262
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