SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Southwest Airlines' flight attendants nationwide will be walking the picket lines Tuesday after working for nearly three years without a contract.
The one-day strike will leave passengers unaffected and take place at major Southwest hubs across the country, including the Oakland Airport.
"Quality of life issues are at the forefront of what we're requesting," said Lyn Montgomery, President and Lead Negotiator of the Transport Workers Union Local 556, which is representing the Southwest flight attendants.
The three years that the flight attendants have been working without a contract have been exceptionally difficult due to the pandemic.
Flight attendants notoriously bore the brunt of passenger frustration during the height of COVID-19, often being verbally or even physically assaulted by people upset over masking or other issues.
"Flight attendants have been left sleeping on airport floors, we have been left without food, we have been the victims of horrific technological breakdowns that just simply cannot continue any longer," said Montgomery.
The strike will not affect flights or disturb operations from the passenger's point of view, according to Montgomery.
"It has, unfortunately, become necessary to take to these picket lines because we need support," she said. "It'll be off-duty flight attendants, it will not disrupt the Southwest Airlines operation in any way."
Currently, flight attendants are not paid for the time during which passengers are boarding their flights, something the union is hoping to address with this strike.
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