Southwest Air Sued by Pilots Who Allege Labor Law Violations
- Union seeks to compel carrier into talks over contract changes
- Southwest denies negotiations were needed for Covid actions
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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Southwest Airlines Co. was sued by its pilots union and accused of violating federal labor law by unilaterally changing working conditions, rules and pay rates as travel collapsed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The carrier violated the Railway Labor Act by making changes in its contract, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said in a lawsuit filed Monday in a Dallas federal court. The union, which represents 9,000 pilots, said it seeks to block further similar actions and asked a judge to order Southwest to make every effort to negotiate an agreement.