Community Corner
MacArthur The Site of Union Protest Against Southwest
Union officials say airline looking to hire part-time workers, cap sick time.
A burgeoning labor problem at Southwest Airlines was the focus of a small protest at Long Island MacArthur Airport on Thursday as union members sought to call attention to the airline’s hiring of temporary workers to save money.
According to Newsday, members of Transport Workers Union Local 555 picketed outside the main passenger terminal and evoked the words of Southwest co-founder Herb Kelleher.
“Herb’s favorite motto was, “If you take care of your employees, everything else will take care of itself,’” Michael Martinez, a union representative told Newsday.
He claims that the airline, the largest commercial carrier at MacArthur, is looking to outsource jobs and make more of its current employees part-timers.
Thursday’s protest was one of many scheduled across the nation to call attention to stalled negotiations between Southwest and the union.
In addition to the issue of using more part-time workers, union officials also said Southwest is looking to reduce the amount of sick time employees can accumulate, from 2,400 hours to 80 hours. Martinez said this is an issue for ground workers given the physical nature of the job, which includes lifting luggage and cargo.
A Southwest spokesperson declined to comment citing ongoing negotiations.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
