Published 23 Jul, 2013
Earlier today the Transport Workers Union of America released a statement regarding an incident with Southwest Airlines Flight 345 where a Boeing 737 experienced difficulty with its landing gear at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. That statement did not properly reflect the position of our union.
TWU represents thousands of workers at Southwest including flight attendants, aircraft dispatchers and the majority of ground workers. We’re proud and protective of our members at Southwest and we’re also proud of our long productive relationship with Southwest Airlines management.
TWU has regularly raised questions with airline managers at Southwest and other carriers as well as members of Congress and federal regulators about problems related to the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance work and other critical operations. However, our statement earlier today inappropriately linked this issue to the collapsed landing gear on Flight 345.
Leaders at TWU Local 556, representing 12,000 Southwest flight attendants, has urged us to correct our earlier statement and clarify that our goal is to find the truth and to in no way interfere with the investigations being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board and others. The TWU retracts its earlier statement and apologizes for any confusion it may have caused.
James C. Little,
International President
Transport Workers Union of America