Unions from Southwest and American Airlines are warning that holiday travel could be disrupted if pilots have to comply with President Joe Biden's pending vaccine mandate.
On Friday, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 14,000 pilots at American, sent a letter to White House and Congressional leaders warning carriers will be forced to 'offer unpaid leaves of absence or, worse, implement mass terminations of unvaccinated pilots,' in response to Biden's new vaccine mandate.
'As labor in the airline industry, we now find ourselves at another critical juncture with President Biden's Executive Orders mandating COVID-19 vaccination for employees of federal contractors and companies with more than 100 workers.
'While it is not yet certain which Executive Order will apply to America's airlines, it is apparent that we will be subject to a vaccine mandate in either instance,' the letter, drafted by APA's President Eric Ferguson read.
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said: 'SWAPA’s stance is that it is each pilot’s right to choose whether or not to get the vaccine.
'We are also concerned that the Executive Order’s anticipated 60-day implementation period for mandatory vaccinations could result in labor shortages and create serious operational problems for Southwest Airlines and its peers.'
Unions from Southwest and American Airlines are warning that holiday travel could be impeded if pilots have to comply with President Joe Biden's pending vaccine mandate
Both Southwest and American issued incentives for pilots and other employees to get vaccinated, including free vacation days and bonus pay. However, neither airline has required vaccinations
To avoid mass termination of unvaccinated pilots, the APA asked that an 'alternate means of compliance with the Executive Order be made available for professional pilots.'
Both Southwest and American issued incentives for pilots and other employees to get vaccinated, including free vacation days and bonus pay. However, neither airline has required vaccinations.
Southwest currently has a workforce of 54,448 employees, with 8,500 active pilots as of December 31, 2020. American has a workforce of 133,700 employees, with 673 active pilots as of August.
The Fort-Worth airline hopes to hire as many as 1,350 pilots by the end of 2022 to satisfy increasing demand.
Southwest currently has a workforce of 54,448 employees, with 8,500 active pilots as of December 31, 2020
On Friday, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 14,000 pilots at American, sent a letter to White House and Congressional leaders warning carriers will be forced to 'offer unpaid leaves of absence or, worse, implement mass terminations of unvaccinated pilots,' in response to Biden's new vaccine mandate
To avoid mass termination of unvaccinated pilots, the APA asked that an ' alternate means of compliance with the Executive Order be made available for professional pilots'
United, Frontier and Hawaiian Airlines all required employees to be vaccinated, with United saying 97% of its 67,000 workforce were vaccinated even before its deadline took effect.
Delta Air Lines stopped short of requiring vaccination but said that starting in November, unvaccinated workers on the company health plan will pay a $200 monthly surcharge.
Delta´s chief health officer, Dr. Henry Ting said that about 20,000 employees weren't vaccinated when the company announced plans for the surcharge. In the past month, nearly 9,000 of them received at least one shot.
About 82.5% of Delta´s 75,000 employees are fully vaccinated. Fewer than five workers have sought a medical exemption and no one has asked for a religious one, Ting said.
'The first 20,000 were very eager, and we got to about 70% (vaccinated) rather quickly,' Ting said, but the
