Dennis Miller
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Southwest workers to protest Airline wants 13-hour days
George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Southwest Airlines flight attendants, in a protest against management demands for a longer work day, will stage demonstrations today at airports in Oakland, Baltimore and Chicago.
The company wants to extend the workday to 13 hours, said Thom McDaniel, president of Local 556 of the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, which represents Southwest's 7,500 flight attendants. Flight attendants currently can be scheduled up to 10.5 hours.
The length of the workday is a major issue in the negotiations for a new contract to replace the one that became amendable on June 1, according to McDaniel. The current contract is in place until a new one is ratified.
He also said the two sides are apart on other quality-of-life issues.
McDaniel said Southwest flight attendants are the only major airline employees who are not provided meals by their airline. Nor does their contract provide for a break, he said.
Southwest spokeswoman Christine Connelly said that she had no comment on the details of the negotiations, but she noted that Southwest does not provide meals, only snacks, to its customers.
At Oakland International Airport beginning at 11:30 a.m. today, and at Baltimore and Chicago's Midway Airport, Southwest employees will be handing out box lunches to flight attendants on duty.
The union is seeking contract language providing for a break. The employees will still provide good service and preserve company culture, said McDaniel.
Compensation has not yet been taken up in negotiations, he said.
Southwest's Connelly said, "Many issues are being negotiated right now. This is a very intricate document."
The length of the next contract is among the topics being discussed. The contract that became amendable last year was effective in 1996.
George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Southwest Airlines flight attendants, in a protest against management demands for a longer work day, will stage demonstrations today at airports in Oakland, Baltimore and Chicago.
The company wants to extend the workday to 13 hours, said Thom McDaniel, president of Local 556 of the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, which represents Southwest's 7,500 flight attendants. Flight attendants currently can be scheduled up to 10.5 hours.
The length of the workday is a major issue in the negotiations for a new contract to replace the one that became amendable on June 1, according to McDaniel. The current contract is in place until a new one is ratified.
He also said the two sides are apart on other quality-of-life issues.
McDaniel said Southwest flight attendants are the only major airline employees who are not provided meals by their airline. Nor does their contract provide for a break, he said.
Southwest spokeswoman Christine Connelly said that she had no comment on the details of the negotiations, but she noted that Southwest does not provide meals, only snacks, to its customers.
At Oakland International Airport beginning at 11:30 a.m. today, and at Baltimore and Chicago's Midway Airport, Southwest employees will be handing out box lunches to flight attendants on duty.
The union is seeking contract language providing for a break. The employees will still provide good service and preserve company culture, said McDaniel.
Compensation has not yet been taken up in negotiations, he said.
Southwest's Connelly said, "Many issues are being negotiated right now. This is a very intricate document."
The length of the next contract is among the topics being discussed. The contract that became amendable last year was effective in 1996.
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