Southwest airlines urges employees to take more shifts during the Independence Day weekend, promises double-pay

Southwest Airlines has been offering employees overtime and urging them to take more shifts to deal with the surge in weekend travel in the Independence Day weekend, according to CNBC.

The flight attendants taking up open shifts during the said period will be receiving double pay.

This need arises from airlines struggling to meet the upsurge in travel post the slump during the pandemic. Despite U.S airlines receiving federal aid worth $54 billion for not furloughing their workers, companies like Southwest urged employees to take leaves of absence or buyouts. 

A combination of poor weather conditions and technical problems has led to a barrage of cancellations in Southwest Airlines this month.

Responding to the news, Alan Kasher, Southwest’s executive vice president of daily operations said, “To address the situation for the short term, we will be incentivizing our Ops Employees during this busy holiday travel week by increasing overtime pay from July 1 through July 7.”