Once again, SWAPA called, you answered, and we, your BOD, are humbled. As we enter what will certainly be a difficult summer, more than ever, our airline, our crews, and our passengers are counting on you. In the meantime, stay focused on being the most professional, most productive, and safest Pilots in the industry. You will hear much more from SWAPA in the coming days and weeks. SWAPA 2nd VP Tom Nekouei will provide you with more details about this decision tomorrow. In addition to closing the vote early, your BOD voted to authorize the use of $7.1 million from the reserve fund to prepare for every available option under the RLA necessary to achieve a successful conclusion to our negotiations. With voting closed, we have the data to support it. SWAPA Pilots are irrefutably the most unified, engaged, and resolved group in the industry. Today's results exceed SAVs within the last year at Delta, American, and Alaska. To put it another way, only 81 Pilots (less than 1%) cast a vote against the SAV and 221 chose not to vote. Of those votes, over 99% of SWAPA Pilots voted YES to authorize a strike. When voting closed and results were tallied at 1030 CT today, 9,824 out of 10,045 eligible votes were cast (turnout was 98%). Because of this historic turnout, your Board of Directors discussed the issue carefully during this week’s meeting in Dallas and decided that it was in the best interest of our Pilots and the Association to end the vote early in order to accelerate our negotiating efforts to reach a ratifiable deal. Ten days into the voting window, because of your engagement and support of SWAPA, we made history - 98% of all eligible voters had already voted. Within 24 hours, that number had gone up to 92%. Within six hours, 80% of all Pilots voted. However, in the first hours of voting, it became clear that we were witnessing history. The vote was scheduled to close on May 31. You are all fully aware that on May 1, SWAPA opened a Pilot Strike Authorization Vote for the first time in our Association’s history. If any of those 3 airlines do sign contracts, their projected profits will be diminished greatly Delta has managed to build a business plan that envisions high salaries for its employees paid for by its revenues - which include the largest contribution from its loyalty program of any US airline in addition to the benefits from its refinery and its fuel efficiency which is saving Delta well over one billion dollars per year in fuel costs compared its most direct peers.Īs your SWAPA Board of Directors closes our May meeting, we have news to report. This could be a very unpleasant summer of travel on American Southwest and United if their pilots and flight attendants at those 3 airlines decide they have had enough. Most of the the low cost carriers have signed new pilot contracts because they can't afford to be squeezed. None of American, United or Southwest has signed contracts with its pilots and none appear to be close. In an industry where the pilot shortage is not getting any better, Delta put the money on the table to ensure it has a supply of pilots. Delta's massive pay raise put the rest of the airlines in the industry on the backs of their heels.
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