 IAM-Southwest Airlines Tentative
Agreement Q & A
The following is a Q & A regarding the tentative agreement recently announced between the
IAM and Southwest Airlines.
Q: Why are the pay raises set at the percentages in the tentative agreement? A: At every step of the pay scale, IAM-represented CSAs and CS&Ss are industry leading,
and not by a small amount. The tentative agreement maintains industry leading wage
rates from 2014-2018. Moreover, top of scale employees will receive a cash bonus in 2015
and 2017 of 1.5% of their previous year’s 401k eligible earnings. This is on top of having
industry leading wage rates. Q: I saw in the highlight sheet we will receive a “profitability bonus.” What is this, and does
it replace profit sharing? A: The “profitability bonus” is in addition to profit sharing. The profitability bonus will be
paid to IAM-represented workers if Southwest Airlines achieves a 15% Return on Invested
Capital (ROIC). If achieved, covered employees will receive .5% of their 401k eligible
earnings. For example, if your 401k eligible earnings are $50,000 and Southwest achieves
15% ROIC, your payment would be $250. This is in addition to profit sharing. Q: I also saw in the highlight sheet that there is a “productivity” bonus for attendance.
What is this? A: If you achieve perfect attendance for a calendar year you will receive $1,000 on April 5th
the following year. Moreover, if you achieve “near perfect” attendance (4 or less
disqualifying days) in a calendar year you will receive $500 the following April 5th (check
complete tentative agreement terms, Article XXVII, on District 142 website for a list of
disqualifying days). Q: I see “free” days have been changed to “flexible time oﬀ” (FTO) days. What does this
change mean? A: Currently, IAM-represented workers at Southwest receive 1 “free” day per month for the
first 10 months of the year. Each free day must be used during the month it is issued. With
the tentative agreement we will receive 10 FTO days per year that we will not be forced to
use each month. We will be able to bank the FTO days and bid for their use at any time
during the year, including November and December. If we don’t use all our FTO days we
will be paid for them in January of the following year (the same way as unused vacation).
Also, an additional FTO day will be oﬀered in 2015 if the tentative agreement is ratified.
Q: I saw that for a partial shift trade of equal hours, we will no longer be responsible for the
unpaid meal period in stations with over 40 employees. Can you show an example of this? A: Partial shift trades of equal hours (eight (8) hour work shift or ten (10) hour work shift)
will not be responsible for the unpaid meal period, except in stations where there are 40 or
fewer employees in the classification. Example: Employee A works from 05:00-0:900 and Employee B works from 09:30-13:30 the
30 minute meal period is waived. Example 2: 05:00-15:30 ten (10) hour shift: Employee A
works from 05:00-10:00 and Employee B works 10:30-15:30 the 30 minute meal period is
waived. "
Q: Part-time employees can now work as a full-time employees for a max of 120 days per
calendar year. What does this mean? A: Currently, Southwest can hire temporary employees for seasonal demands or unusual
circumstances. The tentative agreement prevents Southwest from utilizing temporary
employees and limits part-time employees from having their hours scheduled to full-time
hours to 120 days per calendar year. Part-time employees will accrue vacation and sick time
as full-time employees for the days they work as full-time employees. Q: I see there’s a new position called a Customer Contact Service Lead (CCSL). What is this
position? A: At newly opened stations with 6 flights or less, Southwest retains the right to contract
out that work. However, under the tentative agreement, there must be an IAM-represented
CCSL to oversee the operation. The CCSL will be paid a premium of $4.25 per hour. Q: Why are we receiving ratification bonuses? A: A ratification bonus was negotiated because the company’s position was that no work
group would receive retro pay. The following is the amount of money you will receive depending on which step in the pay
scale you are at: Step 0-5, FT $1,200, PT $600 Step 6-10, FT $1,400, PT $700
Step 11, FT $1,740, PT $870 "
Q: Why did the IAM reach a tentative agreement first? A: The IAM is leading the contract settlements at Southwest Airlines. We demanded and
received written assurances (“me too”) that if the company later provided larger percentage
wage rate increases, larger percentage company 401k contributions and retroactive pay for
another workgroup in ground ops, our members would receive the same value on top of all
the other provisions of our contract.