Southwest workers say they were left with frostbite after 16-hour shifts

A union representing thousands of Southwest Airlines ground crew workers say that a number of their members were forced to complete shifts of up to 18 hours in freezing temperatures during last week’s winter storm. Transport Workers Union of America Local 555 president Randy Barnes said in a release on Wednesday that some of those members experienced frostbite during their abnormally long shifts. “In severe weather it’s unreasonable for workers to stay outside for extended periods,” Barnes wrote. “People need to be able to cycle in and out of the cold. The airline needs to do more to protect its ground crews.” The allegations that Southwest endangered its workers’ safety are among the many issues facing the embattled airline, which has cancelled thousands of flights and left customers stranded in airports across the country since a major winter storm complicated air travel starting in the days before Christmas. The storm shut down flights on a number of different airlines, but no airline has been impacted as significantly or for as many days as Southwest. The airline on Wednesday cancelled some 2,500 flights, whlie the airline with the second-highest number of cancellations, SkyWest, cancelled just 77.<br/>