Airline Representative for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Angel Cantu, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the new contract earned by the material specialists with Southwest Airlines.
The material specialists at Southwest Airlines are a group of workers that handle all the shipping and receiving for the entire airline. They handle everything from replacement parts to general merchandise that comes into the company. With their work, the company would rely on untrained workers to provide safe and efficient transportation and storage of goods.
Other industry contract wins helped pave the way for the wins with the Southwest material specialists. Cantu said that earning a new contract becomes easier when other wins exist in the industry. The negotiation team earned the new contract with the help of the Teamsters' leadership, including Sean O’Brien. Cantu added that the International was there every step of the way and provided assistance whenever needed.
Following this new contract, the Airline Division is back into negotiations with the Flight Sim Specialists at Southwest. These workers handle all the flight simulators for all pilots at Southwest Airlines. These negotiations are about to start and add to a growing number of new contracts being sought in the airline industry. Cantu hopes they can use the momentum already established to create a new contract earlier than the deadline date.
To hear more from Cantu, please listen to the entire episode above.