The Southwest Airlines pilots union membership will vote on whether to approve a contract with the Dallas-based carrier after three and a half years of negotiating, the union confirmed Wednesday.
The tentative agreement passed an evaluation from the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association 25-member board of directors Wednesday.
The agreement would give the roughly 11,000 pilots a 50% pay raise in total over the next four years. It also includes improvements to flying schedules, disability coverage and retirement benefits, according to union Vice President Michael Santoro.
"There's a lot of fantastic improvements in this, a lot of good pay provisions on top of rates," Santoro told KERA News Wednesday. "It's definitely something the membership needs to see and have the ability to make a decision on what's best for themselves and their families."
Pilots will have until Jan. 22 to vote on the contract.
Southwest pilots join those with Delta, United and Fort Worth based American-Airlines, who all reached contract agreements this year.
"We are pleased to reach an Agreement in Principle with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association for Southwest’s nearly 11,000 pilots," read a statement from Chris Perry, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson. "The AIP is a key milestone in the process, and we look forward to the next steps."
The agreement with its pilots association is not the only union agreement the airline has negotiated this year.
Southwest reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendants in October, nearly five years after their last contract expired. Transport Workers Union Local 556 members voted on the TA in December, but rejected the deal.
In a Dec. 13 video statement posted to the local's Facebook, Lyn Montgomery, president and lead negotiator, said a data leak undermined the TA voting results.
“The vendor, TrueBallot, admitted to the executive board, board of election and our attorneys, that their system was unsecured, leaving it open to vulnerabilities,” Montgomery said. “Because of this, the board of election was not able to certify the ratification vote."
TrueBallot president John Seibel told the Dallas Morning News that there was an oversight that allowed an unknown person to access members' names, emails and information on whether they voted. However, he said the integrity of the election was not compromised.
The flight attendant local plans to revote on the deal again, leadership announced in its Dec. 13 video statement.
Southwest also reached a deal with its mechanics this summer. Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association Local 11 members approved the collective bargaining agreement in July that includes includes a more than 20.5% raise over three years.
The contract deal with Southwest's mechanics came after the carrier reported a $638 million profit in its second quarter this year.
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