Southwest Airlines heads back to bargaining table with pilots and mechanics this week

After striking labour deals with 2 of its unions last month, Southwest Airlines is back at the bargaining table this week with negotiators from its pilots and mechanics unions, 2 groups that have gone nearly 4 years without a new deal. Both groups are scheduled to begin separate meetings with Southwest Tuesday with a federal mediator present. Talks are expected to last through Thursday for both groups. For pilots, Tuesday’s meeting serves as a restart for a negotiating process that fell apart after a tentative agreement was overwhelmingly rejected by the 8,300 members of the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association in November. The union has since elected a new president and formed a new negotiating committee. <br/>