Instructors,

Here is a copy of (1) a letter from the your executive board regarding CARES II and (2) a copy of the jointly signed letter to leaders in Washington D.C..

Your Executive Board

Click Here for a letter from the Executive Board

Click Here To View Letter to Washington DC

Click Here to read a memo from Speaker Pelosi on this topic

Membership Message

VSP and EXTO

July 20, 2020

Fellow Instructors,

The July 15^th deadline has passed and some 20 plus Instructors have risen to the occasion and voluntary agreed to help The Company by either accepting the Voluntary Separation Program, VSP, or Extended Time Off, EXTO. Your dedication to the heritage and future of Southwest Airlines is commendable. Weighing family and personal needs against a career is no easy matter. Even leaving fellow employees and a satisfying profession takes courage. Those of you that elected to not volunteer to take VSP or EXTO also made equally difficult decisions after weighing the choices. Regardless, Southwest Flight Crew Training Instructors rose to the occasion.

It is our understanding, that The Company will announce final Instructor numbers and dates for departure later this month. Since TWU 557 Leadership had no input, questions should be directed to Flight Operations Training Leadership.

It is also important to note, that the Southwest Flight Crew Training Instructors, total payroll wise, only represent less than one half of 1% (.0039%) of the total yearly payroll for all contract employees at Southwest Airlines. Nevertheless, the 20+ Instructors who elected to help The Company are doing their part for our group and to help Southwest Airlines conserve cash.

TWU 557 Leadership also stands by to further assist The Company going forward. Just prior to the VSP and ETO programs, TWU 557 offered a Temporary Part Time Program through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outside of current mediated contract negotiations that would conserve payroll dollars. TWU 557’s modeling indicated a dollar savings similar to the EXTO program, with the added advantage of maintaining Instructor proficiency and currency.

We are now 200 plus days into Mediation for our current Contract. While some progress has been made in Contract Articles where we can agree upon on language, other Articles still remain unresolved. We still anticipate Mediated contract talks until there is some clarity for our Airline’s business model related to COVID-19.

Again, thanks for doing your part!

For the Board,

Jerry

Gerald H. Bradley

President TWU 557

Southwest Flight Crew Training Instructors