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Southwest Airlines Pilots Association Files Suit Contesting Airline’s Vaccine Mandate


Last Friday, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association asked a federal judge to issue an injunction to prohibit Southwest’s requirement that all pilots be vaccinated from going into effect.

As readers might have seen, Southwest is one of many airlines that have instituted vaccine mandates for its workers.  These mandates require airline employees be vaccinated by the start of December or risk being terminated.  Naturally, there has been some pushback across the board, including with this lawsuit by the union representing Southwest’s pilots.  The lawsuit, pending in federal court in the Northern District of Texas, argues that the vaccine mandate unlawfully imposes new terms and conditions of employment, in violation of the collective bargaining agreement currently in place.  As a result, the union is asking an injunction be issued to prohibit the mandate from going into effect until the pending lawsuit is resolved.

Whether an injunction is issued remains to be seen.  While the union has requested a hearing on the matter, it is unclear if/when a hearing would be held.  For the time being, Southwest’s vaccine mandate remains in place…but if I were a betting man, I would not be confident that it will remain.  After all, this past weekend’s issues with thousands of cancelled Southwest flights and a rumored “sickout” by its pilots makes me think this story will continue to evolve.  Stay tuned.


For additional information:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-09/southwest-air-pilots-seek-to-block-covid-vaccination-mandate

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