Southwest Airlines pilots have set a “historic” strike-authorization vote, following a lack of progress in contract negotiations and a massive operational meltdown.
In a Jan. 18 announcement, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) said a vote has been set “beginning on May 1, and will ultimately give pilots the ability to strike.” The union, which represents about 10,000 pilots, said this is the first time in the airline’s 51-year history for such a vote.
The union’s vice president, Capt. Michael Santoro, in a SWAPA Facebook post, said the union is exasperated. He called the vote is “a tool we must employ to wake up management.”…