Southwest flight attendants to vote on new contract after rejecting previous offers
(Reuters) - Southwest Airlines and the union representing nearly 20,000 of its flight attendants have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract, the carrier said on Wednesday, after two previous attempts failed to secure a deal.
The Transport Workers Union's local chapter will directly present details of the deal to the cabin crew members, the airline said, with voting set to begin in a few weeks.
Cabin crew members had approved a strike mandate in January after rejecting a second tentative contract, which proposed a 20% pay raise for 2024 and a 3% annual raise in 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028. The previous contract came up for renewal in 2018.
"Our membership is the ultimate authority (on the agreement)," TWU Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery said.
Flight attendants in Canada and the U.S. are demanding to be paid for more of their hours at work — a fundamental change from how the industry currently compensates them by paying largely only when the aircraft is in motion.
Shares of the largest U.S. domestic carrier were up about 1% in morning trade.
Bumper pilot contracts have encouraged other groups to demand similar gains, even as airlines face higher wage bills.
Rivals American Airlines and United Airlines are also negotiating with their flight attendants.
Southwest has ratified contracts with nine worker groups since October 2022. Earlier this year, the airline reached a deal with its pilots, which will offer about a 50% pay raise over a five-year period.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary and Abhijith Ganaparavam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shilpi Majumdar)
