DALLAS — The Southwest Airlines pilots union has voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike, a largely symbolic move as the group continues negotiations on a new contract with the Dallas-based company.
The vote - details of which were released by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association on Thursday - does not mean that pilots will go on strike. In fact, a strike would be highly unlikely to happen as the airline heads into a busy summer travel season, and Southwest has never had a labor strike.
The pilots union and the airline are still negotiating on a deal; strike authorization votes are commonly seen as a message from a union to a company during negotiations.
The authorization vote is a step in what would be a lengthy labor process that could eventually lead to a strike.
Similar to how American Airlines pilots voted to authorize a strike last week, the Southwest vote is highly unlikely to lead to any walkout or strike that would disrupt the airline's operations.
Voting on the authorization began May 1 and 98% of union members participated, with 99% favoring the strike authorization, according to the union.
“Today, our Pilots have empowered our Negotiating Committee Chair, Captain Jody Reven, to petition the National Mediation Board to release us to self-help imminently at which time we will follow the process set forth by the Railway Labor Act and continue toward a strike," pilots union president Casey Murray said. "We want our passengers to understand that we do not take this path lightly and are disheartened that the LUV airline has gotten so far away from the values set forth by Herb Kelleher."
Southwest Airlines in a statement Thursday emphasized that the vote does not mean that pilots are going on strike.
Southwest also said the vote "has no impact on our scheduled operations" heading into the summer travel season.
"Our negotiating team remains focused on ongoing discussions and continuing to make progress toward a new agreement for our Pilots. Southwest and the Pilots' union (SWAPA) remain in mediation, which is overseen by the National Mediation Board," Southwest officials said in a statement Thursday.
Southwest pilots have been critical of management in the wake of the airline's holiday travel chaos, which led to thousands of canceled flights in the week after Christmas.
Murray in January called for the strike authorization vote this spring "in the wake of Southwest's largest meltdown and utter lack of meaningful progress on a contract negotiation," the release said.
While Southwest posted a first-quarter loss in the wake of the holiday meltdown, the Dallas-based airline saw a profit in March and expects to make a profit for the second quarter.