Southwest Airlines Board of Directors unanimously support CEO Gary Kelly and COO Mike Van de Ven to continue leading the company despite calls from four large labor unions to remove them, according to a letter.
Addressed to labor union leadership, the board declares they have no intention of removing Kelly or Ven de Ven. “Given the recent ‘no confidence’ vote by each of you in the Management of Southwest Airlines, we believe it is imperative you understand the unanimous position of the Company’s Board Members,” the letter reads. “It is solely the board’s responsibility to determine who will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Airlines. Let us be equally clear that we have no intention of removing Gary Kelly or (chief operating officer) Mike Van de Ven from their positions,” the board asserts.
The largest labor unions linked to Southwest Airlines have been calling for Kelly and Van de Ven’s removal, with the pilots union voting 20-0 in a “no confidence” vote Monday.
Southwest Airlines baggage handlers joined the company’s pilots, mechanics and flight attendants a few days later in calling for the removal of Kelly and Van de Ven. Kelly released a video saying he wasn’t going anywhere and that calls for his removal are nothing more than a negotiating tactic.
The union leaders claims that while the company earned a record profit of $280 million in the second quarter of 2016, employees are not reaping the rewards equitably.
A major point of contention between management and labor is the decision by Southwest to spend $700 million to buy back stock in the second quarter to complete a $1.5 billion repurchase program. Labor leaders contend that the money should have been used to fix equipment and close productivity gaps, resulting in massive delays and cancellations.
The board authorized the allocation of an additional $2 billion for the buyback plan in May, which only deepened employee suspicions that the company was not investing in its employees.
Southwest employees are currently undergoing tense negotiations with management.
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