Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights Friday through Sunday, and hundreds more on Monday because employees called in sick, or refused to sign up for overtime hours over the holiday weekend, a Southwest Airlines pilot told American Greatness.
Southwest blamed “air traffic control issues” and inclement weather for the cancelled flights, but the problems were actually a direct result of the airline’s announcement on October 4 that all of its 56,000 U.S. employees were required be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face termination.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock plunged Monday after the airline experienced the massive cancellations and delays.
The carrier’s 10,000 pilots “are the most conservative collection of white collar employees in the country,” explained the pilot, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. He estimated that at least 60 to 70 percent of pilots at Southwest are, like himself, former military.
The tyrannical mandate, he explained, erased all of the good will pilots and other conservative employees had felt toward their company.
That newfound ill will manifested itself over the three day weekend, not with an organized strike, but with many disgruntled employees calling in sick, or not signing up for overtime to help the airline fulfill the increase in flights typical for a holiday weekend.
Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest, told employees last week that the airline had no choice but to comply with the regime’s vaccine mandate.
“Southwest Airlines is a federal contractor and we have no viable choice but to comply with the U.S. government mandate for employees to be vaccinated, and — like other airlines — we’re taking steps to comply,” Kelly said.
The pilot told American Greatness that the mandate did not sit well with him or his colleagues.
“This is a collection of very conservative white collar professionals that are very successful, and have done well,” he said. “You mandate a vaccine on them—and these aren’t necessarily people that are going to comply,” he explained, adding “to some extent they’re going to resist.”
He said that over the holiday weekend, Southwest probably saw a 20 percent increase in flights, and relied on the goodwill of pilots to fly those extra trips.
The way Southwest schedules these flights these days, he said, is they rely on a significant number of pilots to pick up an extra trip for time and a half overtime pay. That time and a half pay is usually enough of a enticement to draw the needed number of pilots to fly those trips, he said.
After the vaccine mandate, however, Southwest shouldn’t have expected any pilots to sign up for those extra flights, he said.
The same was true for the pilots who called in sick.
“Let’s say I was supposed to work this past weekend after this vaccine mandate, and you know what, I’m going to lose my sick days in a month or 45 days, so I might as well just use them now and stay at home and help potty-train my two year old, you know what I mean?” the pilot said. “These are my sick days, and I own them, they’re mine.”
He continued: “So you have some people calling in sick, and then you have this extra 20 percent of flights that they’re relying on people to come out there and cover,” the pilot explained. “And people like me are saying, a week ago, you mandated me to do something I’m not comfortable doing—so these are the dominos beginning to fall.
Southwest runs that tight schedule, and then they try to get people to do overtime, and they’re relying on the goodwill of their staff to do that, and it’s not going to happen right now. There’s no good will right now at that company,” he said.
The pilot told American Greatness that Southwest really relies on the goodwill of its employees.
“Historically, it is a family. It’s people that care about each other, and people that will go out of their way to give the shirt off their back to you,” he said, adding that management in one week had completely demolished all of that goodwill.
He stressed that there was no “organized sickout,” or even unofficial talk amongst themselves about calling in sick.
“Nothing like that is going on,” he insisted.
However, the pilot went on to note, everyone knew that it was going to be a busy weekend and the airline would be relying on everyone working together “like we were all one happy family.”
“I knew what the consequences of what me doing that would do,” he said. I knew it would make a tight weekend even tighter, but did I know that there would be maybe a hundred other people doing it? No. I did not know that.
He defended his action, saying, “all I was doing was using my sick days before I get terminated.”
via amgreatness
A Southwest Pilot Explains What Happened over the Weekend
Over stressing our Pilots is not a smart thing, they need to remain cool and calm. I do not want to fly with stressed out pilots
Or one who drops dead from the shot while flying
Yes, this is why I don’t expect to ever fly again. It’s part of “my take care program.”
It’s safer if you drive or have someone drive you where ever you are going. There are to many nut jobs flying. Or should I say lefties
Yes But that makes Hawaii so far away!
Yeah! I don’t want to fly with him either
Isn’t this exactly why the military flight surgeon grounded all air force pilots that got the death shot, for a certain period? I read that about 2 weeks ago. Now THAT is frightening.
Honestly, I hate to say it but remember all the massive numbers of FEMA plastic coffins that were found stored? Are we being targeted and devalued?
Exactly! I read that report as well.
I think so!
Standing up for your rights: of freedom of choice between a dictatorship mandates of dacronion mandate chains of globalization groups taking away what you hold most dear the American dream of freedom: let there be more: for these vaccine shots can do more harm to the pilots and stewards:plus flyers: because of compression in the flight. Can have a blood clot causing havoc : while in the air. The only reason these corporations are mandating the jab : is because of jab lucre of globalization groups taking away what you hold most dear the American dream of freedom.
Good fo everyone that refuses to comply with illegal orders. I just want to leftist idiots that try to force that vaccine to suffer the most.
The Left believes if they mandate all will comply. In America, that is not the way it works. We are not under any Communist regime. Our Constitution (at least the original one we follow still) says the country is ruled by the people and the government is our servant–not the other way around. If they want Communism or Socialism, they should go somewhere else. We have a choice and freedom. We can just tell them “No”.
A mandate is not a law.
All concessions are one sided and NOT for the employees. As a former Air Traffic professional, I think ATC and the pilots deserve a different plan, many lives are in their hands
The self aware people are saying no ! Stand for freedom against a socialist fascist communist tyrannical and unconstitutional government.
There is no mandate! Biden has spoken of it but there is no existing mandate and these companies are screwing over their employees because this madman has opened his mouth about something he has no authority to do. He should be removed from office as well as Harris and Pelosi. They are threatening Americans where they have no right or authority to do so. Perhaps they should sky dive with no chute and see how it feels.
The Administration has openly said that their plan is to let employers do the dirty work for them to mandate the jabs. You’re right, there is no government mandate, but they are “forcing” people to comply or face the consequences, including loss of income.