Word: southwester
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Flight attendants at Southwest work as many as 150 hours a month, compared with 80 hours at many other airlines, says union president Thom McDaniel. Southwest attendants are required by contract to "make a reasonable effort to tidy the airplane" between flights, a chore that other major airlines pay contractors to do. According to an airline labor expert, senior flight attendants at United get as many as 52 vacation days (compared with 35 days for veterans at Southwest). And they never have to clean up after the passengers...
Operating like a NASCAR pit crew, Southwest's mechanics pride themselves on changing airplane tires faster than their counterparts at other airlines. And mechanics at Southwest don't use the standard $500 tool to remove the magnetic device that detects metal chips in engine oil, as other mechanics do; they simply and quickly use their hand to pop it out. "Those tools are a waste," says a mechanic...
...Although Southwest has a higher proportion of union members among its employees than any other major airline, the 30-year-old carrier has never suffered a layoff or strike. Unlike any other CEO in the business, Jim Parker, 55, who joined Southwest in 1986 and took over the top spot from founder Herb Kelleher last year, personally leads most negotiations from Day One. "The biggest complaint in the industry is that management doesn't listen to employees," observes Southwest pilot Brad Bartholomew. "But you can't say that at Southwest. The top guy is in the room." After sometimes acrimonious...
When the union that represents Southwest's pilots told members to reject the company's contract offer, Southwest pilots rebelled. "The industry--and the economy--is going to hell, and I'm supposed to vote against?" scoffed veteran pilot Tracy Price. "The union was out of touch. I took the raise." Two-thirds of the pilots voted in September to accept management's offer. They voted the union leadership out of office last week, in large part because of its unrealistic stance on wages...
More than other airlines, Southwest compensates its workers in ways other than base pay. It contributes 15% of its pre-tax income to a profit-sharing plan. Immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, Southwest management assured its workers and unions that no one would be laid...