Southwest Air CEO denounces no-confidence vote as union ploy

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly pushed back against calls for his ouster by four labor groups, saying the personal attack against him is part of a negotiating ploy. “I’m not going anywhere and neither is Mike Van de Ven,” the company’s COO, Kelly said in a video posted for Southwest employees. “We have important work to do and important issues to address, and we are not distracted by these games.” Southwest’s four largest unions -- representing about 36,000 of its more than 52,000 workers -- this week called for the two executives to step aside, citing flight disruptions caused by the carrier’s aging computer systems, a misguided focus on cost cutting and billions spent on buying back company stock. The coordinated effort is the largest assault on Kelly since he became chief executive in 2004 and comes after three years of record earnings at the Dallas-based airline. “Many of the allegations are simply uninformed or intentionally false,” Kelly said. “Labor negotiations should not be rationalized as a license for bad behavior... The Southwest board of directors, my bosses, fully support our work, our vision, our Southwest family and our Southwest leaders,” Kelly said.<br/>