Merger Of The Two Seniority Lists Headed To Members Of Both Flight Instructor Employee Groups For A Ratification Vote

A tentative Seniority Integration Agreement was reached late last week between the Transport Workers Union (TWU) 557, the union representing Southwest Airlines Flight Instructors, and the Flight Instructors of AirTran Airways. This tentative agreement would integrate the two groups' seniority lists. The TWU 557 Executive Committee and the Employee Committee representing the AirTran Flight Instructors voted to pass this tentative agreement forward to their respective members, which now allows each group to review the proposed agreement and ultimately put it to a ratification vote.

"I want to commend the Company and Union negotiating teams for reaching this critical point in the integration process," said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "All parties never lost focus on the ultimate goal of creating an integrated seniority list and transition plan for our Flight Instructors outside of arbitration."

"In what historically has proven to be a difficult and tumultuous process, we once again showed what initiative and persistence can accomplish," added Capt. Chuck Magill, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Flight Operations. "Much like our Pilots before them, our Flight Instructor groups demonstrated forward-thinking Leadership through this integration process, and their efforts should be recognized and commended."

Reaching a negotiated agreement avoids the arbitration process and gives both groups ownership of the combined list. Each Flight Instructor group will now spend the next several weeks reviewing the tentative agreement before putting it up for a ratification vote. TWU 557 represents approximately 70 Southwest Airlines Flight Instructors, and AirTran has 18.

FMI: www.southwest.com