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- A new lawsuit from Southwest pilots calls out discrepancies in conditions for frontline and white-collar workers.
- The suit criticizes management for protecting themselves while pilots risk their health on the job.
- While many corporate offices have allowed employees to work from home, frontline workers have fewer options.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Southwest pilots are suing their employer over a pandemic-related shift in pay and working conditions, and the spat hits upon the discrepancy between experiences of white-collar employees and frontline workers.
The lawsuit from the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association centers around allegations that the airline "significantly altered working conditions, rules, and pay rates for Pilots." It also specifically calls out management for protecting "themselves by closing down headquarter offices to work from home and meeting virtually."
The suit notes that "pilots, along with other front-line workers, did not have that option," and lists pilots as "amongst the most at-risk work groups immediately after first responders and healthcare employees."
Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
During the pandemic, many corporate employees have been able to move entirely to remote work. Companies like Nike, LinkedIn, Bumble, Hootsuite, have even taken steps like shuttering their offices to help staff combat burnout.
But frontline workers, like pilots and flight attendants, are required to report for work in-person, due to the very nature of their jobs. The lawsuit notes that because they are "confined to the cockpit for long hours," pilots are unable to comply with social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the airline industry, flight crews have also had to contend with a spike in angry and violent outbursts from passengers.
The lawsuit against Southwest sharply contrasts pilots' experiences with those of "management employees," noting that pilots have remained "on the road every day," visiting airport terminals, staying at various lodgings, and getting "crammed into hotel shuttles."
"While management employees with minor children (now no longer in schools), were able to work with their kids at home, Pilots could not and their families and children were equally put at risk of infection each time the Pilots returned home from a trip," the complaint says.
