Southwest Airlines Has Another Huge Worker Problem (Beyond Its Pilots)

The airline has built its reputation on the backs of one group of employees and those workers are angry at how they're being treated.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) - Get Free Report turned flight attendants from service industry workers that bring passengers drinks into the face of the airline. On most airlines, flight attendants greet passengers, but they're mostly in the background.

On Southwest, flight attendants act like cruise directors. They have the freedom to jump on the plane's microphone and tell jokes, shares stories, and generally give the flight some personality.

DON'T MISS: Southwest Airlines Slaps Passengers, Pilots in the Face

That's not because the airline wanted to indulge its workers who wish they had made it in entertainment. Southwest's flight attendants set the tone for the entire airline. They make it clear that this is a less stuffy take on travel.

Basically, the airline uses its flight attendants to build a relationship with its passengers. That's something the company always celebrated in its in-flight magazine by sharing stories of its staff going above and beyond for passengers.

Now, the airline -- which also faces contract issues with its pilots -- has angered these key front line workers. That's a very dangerous place for the company to be as its flight attendants aren't simply servers and safety agents -- they're the face of the company.

Southwest Flight Attendants Picket    

Southwest held its annual "rally" on Feb. 21 in Las Vegas at the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). That's an annual event where workers gather to hear top management reflect back on the past year.

It's generally a celebratory event, but the airline's flight attendants decided to change the narrative this year. Instead of joining the party, they decided to hold a picket line in order to draw attention to their efforts to secure a new contract that "would pay them more and pay them for time spent awaiting flight departures," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

“We’re really not in the mood to party,” said Transport Workers Union Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery.

The union, which represents Southwest’s 18,000 flight attendants, has been working without a contract for four years. It shared a statement on its Facebook page detailing its position Feb. 20. 

It’s time for accountability on the part of Southwest Airlines. TWU Local 556 believes strongly in making this airline successful and is working to ensure this company we love isn’t run into the ground by leadership more concerned about shareholders than about workers and customers. Management’s methodology of choosing profits at the expense of the operation and its workforce has to change, because the flying public is also tired of the empty apologies that flight attendants have endured for years. It’s time for Southwest Airlines to make it right for flight attendants and for customers by investing in and valuing its people.” #MakeItRightSWA.

That's a very similar argument to what Southwest's pilots, who are also negotiating a new contract with the airline, have said as well.

Southwest shared the following statement with TheStreet.

"Southwest Airlines has an award-winning culture that respects our employees and allows them to express their opinions in a cordial manner. We remain engaged in negotiations with TWU 556 and the National Mediation Board to work toward a contract that rewards our flight attendants and allows us to continue attracting great talent."

Southwest Clearly Has an Employee Problem  

For decades, Southwest enjoyed a reputation as a company that treated its workers well. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) has very publicly taken the stance that the company has shifted away from the values held by its founder Herb Kelleher, who died in 2019.

In a recent open letter, the union representing the airline's pilots called out management.

"How did we get here? How did we go from the most stable and profitable airline in history to the greatest meltdown in airline history? As with most organizations, the answer can be distilled down to one word: Leadership. Actually, in our case, it’s three words: Lack of leadership," the association shared.

The SWAPA letter also made it clear that the airline's management should have seen its December meltdown coming.

"There has never been any real accountability for the decision-makers as a result of any of these fiascos, or the numerous smaller ones in between. If the saying that 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results' is true, then what is it when the same people are allowed to do the same thing over and over again? Supreme insanity, perhaps?" the letter continued.