TWU · Southwest Airlines

Agreement Metadata

Primary Document: Contract 2024 (Annotated “as-would-read” package)

This report analyzes the 2024–2028 modification layer for the Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant agreement under TWU Local 556. The “Contract 2024” PDF is explicitly presented as an annotated version of the tentative agreement, designed to be read as the contract would read if ratified; annotations appear in blue text boxes above changed language, with additional “housekeeping” edits not always called out.

The agreement’s duration provision states that the agreement becomes effective May 1, 2024 and remains in full force and effect until April 30, 2028, renewing annually thereafter absent timely Section 6 notice.

Relationship to baseline: This modification layer should be read as a targeted rewrite/upgrade over the long-horizon Southwest baseline agreement (2018–2028), with the 2024–2028 package focusing on legality accounting, reserve design, assignment sequencing, and (critically) premium-pay “non-absorption” above RIG floors in key disruption scenarios.

Contract Architecture Overview

The 2024–2028 modification package strengthens Southwest’s contract architecture in three recurring ways: (1) it tightens “clock and boundary” definitions (duty period/debrief/rest accounting), (2) it formalizes system-driven sequencing in additional-flying and reserve assignment (including self-notify and timed gates), and (3) it recalibrates economics so certain premiums pay above floor mechanisms rather than being absorbed by RIGs.

The net effect is a more self-executing enforcement model: more outcomes are computable from records (time stamps, notifications, sequence windows, legality flags), and more pay remedies are structurally protected from dilution by “greatest-of” floors.

Key architectural signal: Several provisions explicitly call out long-standing failure modes where premium pay was being “absorbed” by duty-based RIGs. The 2024 package addresses this by specifying that certain premiums (e.g., extended duty pay after 12 hours) are paid on top of all RIGs.

Scheduling & Assignment Framework

The modification package deepens the agreement’s sequencing and system-governance design. It modernizes notice channels, expands electronic acknowledgements, and clarifies ordering mechanics across Additional Flying, Reschedule/Stranded handling, and Reserve.

Hours of Service: Debrief/Duty Definitions and Premium Triggers

Definitions are adjusted so that debrief is structurally counted in duty period accounting for rest and pay purposes, aligning the operational record with what Flight Attendants actually experience on duty.

Extended duty provisions are explicitly priced: when duty exceeds twelve (12) hours, trips flown after that point are paid at double time until legal crew rest is achieved, and (importantly) the text indicates this premium is intended to be paid above RIG calculations rather than being absorbed by duty-ratio floors.

Additional Flying: Time-Gated Reserve Self-Assignment Windows

Open flying is required to reside in Open Time before assignment, and reserve self-assignment is governed by explicit time windows (e.g., Senior AM Reserve self-assignments beginning at 1800 local, junior windows thereafter, and Crew Scheduling assignment gates).

This is a strong “controlled market” architecture: rather than informal assignment, the contract uses time-gated access to shape who can capture open flying, when, and under what sequencing rules.

Reserve: New Shift Types, Contact Windows, and System Release

The 2024 package defines multiple Reserve classifications (e.g., SAR/SPR/JAR/JPR/JLR) with explicit contact windows and limits on how far after contact a check-in may be scheduled. It also introduces system-based self-notify/release logic (e.g., assignment/release/status pending) rather than forcing phone-based holds at the end of flying.

Architecturally, this reduces friction and increases auditability: reserve obligations become time-bounded and system-visible, decreasing the “black box” effect of discretionary phone interactions.

Reschedule / Stranded: Premiums for Late Return and Added Duty

The reschedule/stranded subsystem adds structured premium outcomes for specific disruption patterns (e.g., later last-day block-in outcomes), with language stating that certain premiums pay above RIGs (and above VJA/JA in applicable cases), reinforcing the “price deviation” model.

Economic Structure

The 2024–2028 modification package is unusually explicit about the relationship between premium pay and RIG floors. It preserves a robust minimum-pay rule system (ADG/DPM/DHR/THR) while explicitly stating that certain premiums (extended duty, late return, last-day-late, extended ground time, etc.) are paid on top of all RIG calculations.

Premium Non-Absorption as Enforcement

This is an enforcement upgrade: when premium pay can be absorbed, the deterrent effect is reduced. When premiums are paid above floors, the operation faces predictable incremental cost for deviations, making the contract’s “pricing discipline” real-time rather than theoretical.

Pay Tables and “New Contract Date” Framing

Compensation provisions explicitly reference a “New Contract Date” (May 1, 2024) and include rate progressions with defined effective dates for subsequent increases, reinforcing that this package is a forward-facing economic reset for the 2024–2028 period.

RIG Computation Clarifications

RIG calculations are described as multi-layer comparisons (daily duty period sources vs pairing-level floors), and the text explicitly lists which premiums sit “on top of” the RIG stack, reducing ambiguity and disputes over whether a premium is truly additive.

Enforcement & Dispute Resolution Architecture

The grievance and board/arbitration framework remains conventional RLA structure, but modernization appears in process details: tightened/standardized timelines, electronic notice expectations, and additional clarity on board/arbitration logistics and governance.

Practically, the enforcement burden shifts further toward record-based verification: with system acknowledgements, time-gated windows, defined contact methods, and “premium-above-RIG” triggers, more disputes become auditable from operational data rather than dependent on recollection or discretionary practice.

Structural Strengths, Weaknesses & Comparative Flags

Structural strengths: Clear duration and effective-date framing for the 2024–2028 window; expanded system-governance mechanisms (self-notify, electronic acknowledgements); reserve re-architecture with bounded contact windows; and explicit “premium above RIG” enforcement that strengthens deterrence.

Structural weaknesses: High rule density remains; success depends on correct system implementation and accurate coding (the contract assumes that “the system” will reliably expose and enforce the defined sequences). Where technology lags, the contract can become procedurally fragile.

Comparative flags: The package reads like a modernization retrofit: it is not merely wage-driven. It rewrites how duty time is measured, how reserves are contacted, and how premium pay survives floor computations—suggesting a negotiating focus on practical, recurring friction points.

Standardized Contract Scorecard