Southwest Pilots Receive Extra Pay For Efforts in 2023

Southwest Airlines has committed to compensate its Southwest Pilots with “thanks pay” in the amount of around $45 million for their efforts throughout the company’s service collapse throughout the holiday travel period at the tail end of the previous year.

The airline has stated that it will reward other Southwest Pilots groups working through the period. However, it did not immediately identify which employees would be compensated or how much they would get.

Around 9,400 pilots are working for Southwest. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association sent its members a message announcing the projected cost of their bonus pay. The letter stated that the “gratitude pay” would equal fifty percent of the pilots’ usual pay, except for holiday pay, sick pay, and vacation time.

Southwest Airlines disclosed earlier

Southwest Airlines disclosed earlier this month that the cost of the service problems, which led to the cancellation of more than 16,700 flights between December 21 and December 29. These cancellations occurred between the dates of December 21 and December 29. About half of that cost was attribute to customers being compensated, higher running costs, and increase employee pay. In contrast, the loss of ticket income accounted for approximately half of that cost. According to Southwest, the “thanks” compensation given to staff is already factor into that calculation.

Southwest employees make up about 83% of the workforce in the United States, and the company is now in discussions for seven different contracts that will cover the majority of the union members who make up that workforce. These include mediated talks with the union representing pilots and flight attendants, two of the groups most affected by the scheduling method used by the airline, which was the root cause of the breakdown in service.

The pilots are organizing a vote on whether or not to go on strike in May. According to the federal law that governs labor relations in the aviation business, there are substantial restrictions on strikes by airline employees. It would take a few months before a strike could begin, and there is no guarantee that it would even be possible.

The FTC has requested that the federal court hold ‘pharma bro’ accountable.

Martin Shkreli, also know as “Pharma Bro,” is accuse of ignoring a recent investigation into his business. So dealings conduct by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and of failing to make a payment of $64.6 million. But he owe for previous violations of the law. On Friday, the FTC asked a federal court to hold Shkreli in contempt because of these allegations.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a motion for contempt of court against. Because Martin Shkreli following what it has described as an unsuccessful attempt to verify. But if Shkreli has breached a court order that prohibits him from ever again working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Brianne Murphy described the conflict

An attorney for Shkreli name Brianne Murphy describe the conflict with the FTC as a misunderstanding. So that “may get handle reasonably quickly once we get additional facts and context to them.” Murphy continue by saying that Shkreli’s new company will not violate. So the court order since it “is a software company, rather than a drug company.”

In 2018, Shkreli was finally able to walk out from the federal prison where he serving a reduce sentence. In 2017, he was found guilty of securities fraud for his role in the improper management of two investment funds.

While serving as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli is also notorious for driving up. So the price of the life-saving medicine know as Daraprim by a factor of 4,000. Because of his behavior, he has been called the “most loathed man in America” by several different newspapers. As part of a separate FTC antitrust case brought against him, he was recently. So the subject of a ruling that prohibited him from working. But in the pharmaceutical industry for the rest of his life. The verdict, issue in 2022 and spanned 134 pages, was hand down. Because by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.