Southwest Airlines management and the low-fare carrier’s mechanics will face off yet again at the bargaining table on Thursday, the first meeting between the two sides in more than two months.
Hopes are high within the ranks of Southwest mechanics that progress will be made after well over six years of negotiations. More than 2,400 Southwest mechanics are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association.
A tentative contract reached last year was voted down by rank-and-file Southwest mechanics, who felt the tentative agreement didn’t go far enough to compensate mechanics for the six-plus years they continued to work without a new deal.