Southwest Airlines baggage handlers to vote on contract

Southwest Airlines and its ground workers union announced a new tentative agreement Wednesday, hopefully ending more than four years of sometimes acrimonious negotiations.

The Transportation Workers Union Local 555 executive board, which represents more than 12,000 baggage handlers and ramp workers at the Dallas-based carrier, reviewed an agreement in principle reached Dec. 23 and decided to conduct a ratification vote.

The airline did not disclose the details of the deal but said in a statement that it improves wages and benefits. According to the union, the proposed contract includes raises of more than 20 percent over its life for union members in all classifications.

Over the next few weeks, the union leadership will share the terms of the agreement, which if approved, will become amendable in 2021.

“I am grateful to the company and union negotiators who shaped this agreement,” Steve Goldberg, Southwest vice president for ground operations, said in a statement. “We wanted a rewarding contract that our employees would support, as well as one that supports our company’s low-fare structure and growth opportunities, and we believe this agreement achieves those objectives.”

Union President Greg Puriski said in a statement that after more than four years of negotiations, members will have a say on the agreement.

“It’s an important choice for workers and their families and the decision is theirs and theirs alone,” Puriski said.

A final copy of the tentative agreement will be mailed to the homes of union members. Local 555 will have phone banks available to answer questions, and voting — either by telephone or by a secure online platform — is expected to begin in January.

Local 555 and Southwest management have been in contract negotiations for 4  1/2 years and entered federal mediation in 2012.

Tensions rose between Southwest and the union last month when Southwest filed a lawsuit accusing Local 555 of what it called an “illegal work action” after ramp workers staged a sickout at four airports in Southern California and planned another in Orlando, Fla., for the Friday before Thanksgiving.

Southwest then suspended 100 ground workers in December, saying the workers used a personal time-off policy to take part in the illegal work stoppage. The union denied the allegations and raised more than $100,000 to support the workers who had suspensions without pay ranging from 45 to 90 days.

Southwest operates a network of 97 destinations across the United States and seven additional countries with more than 3,900 departures a day during peak travel season.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Southwest Airlines baggage handlers to vote on contract."