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The announcement made today by Southwest Airlines of an "operational emergency", in which the company has come to a standstill and canceled a large number of flights, may have surprised the large public. But anyone who follows six years of alarming worry about safety issues emanating from the mechanics union of the corporation, the Brother Association of Aircraft Mechanics (AMFA), the so-called Southwest Emergency was slow in coming; Union mechanics say they have raised security concerns since 2015.
The operational emergency this week forced the Southwest to attract more than 40 aircraft, out of an estimated 750, in four Southwest locations. Southwest has declared the emergency after negotiations between the union and the airline, although a CBS investigation has led to an investigation in which it had interviewed 26 company mechanics airline, both with Southwest and American Airlines. problems. Specifically, the mechanics told CBS that management had been pressuring them to ignore safety issues, which they protested. In response, they stated that they had to face threats and intimidation tactics from management to report security issues, all with the goal of getting aircraft back into service more quickly. . As noted by the CBS, their claims had been supported by whistleblower complaints from the Federal Aviation Administration.
These negotiations between the union and Southwest resulted in this week's public relations mess for the company. In public statements, the airline has attempted to represent the union, which represents more than 2,700 mechanics working on Boeing 737s, as a scapegoat for the unusually high number of aircraft out of service, delays and delays. 39; cancellations. In a statement Tuesday by Southwest Airlines chief operating officer Mike Van de Ven, Van de Ven described the union as disruptive and not so subtly linking the "emergency" to recent negotiations.
"AMFA has a long history of work stoppages and Southwest has two lawsuits against the union," he said. "We apologize to our customers who have been bothered by this disruption."
Earl Clark, Director of AMFA Region 1, told Salon that airlines are accusing the union of helping the parties find a solution, namely to create an environment conducive to safety and security, such as the Clark said.
"We can start shooting arrows back and forth, but that will not take us where we need to be with the problem: who is the grown adult here? This is a major undertaking, "Clark said, adding that he was not sure what was an" operational emergency "for the company anyway. "There have been major incidents in the past," he said, referring to one of the cases where the engine of a plane had exploded and killed a passenger year-round last, without the company declaring an operational emergency.
These are technical issues in AMFA that were brought to the bargaining table in 2015, Clark said.
"It's not something new," he said. "In 2015, the union notified the carrier of safety concerns and was eliminated. That was in 2015, and here we are in 2019 with aging planes and tired mechanics who have ended up being intimidated. "
What followed was several trials between the two. In 2016, AMFA sued Southwest Airlines for its bad-faith bargaining tactics. In 2017, Southwest Airlines filed a lawsuit against AMFA for boycotting overtime.
Clark told Salon that Southwest Airlines had an average of only 3.3 aircraft mechanics, while Delta and American operated an average of 11 or 12 people per plane.
When asked if Salon could speak to union members who were working for Southwest, the union director said it would be difficult for them to speak in public because the airlines could have "repercussions" on these mechanics. in good faith "for six years, he said, noting that the technicians had also not received a salary increase at that time.
What happens next is unclear, although both parties say they want to work together. Coincidentally, on Thursday, a Southwest Airlines aircraft made an emergency landing after the announcement of a tire break. The blast seemed to summarize the mechanic's concerns, especially the bald tires. However, Bret Oestreich, the union's national director, told Salon that he did not know if the operational emergency was related to Southwest's poor security stance. "Too many parameters to speculate," he said.
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