As I understand the situation, it is not lawful for pilots to go on strike at this point in the process, so no pilot is going to state out loud that there is a walkout. However, pilots can use sick leave and vacation time to accomplish the same thing, and this seems to be what is happening. (This is similar to what police officers do when they develop the 'blue flu.')
From lawyers.com: Statutes Prohibiting Strikes in Certain Industries
"Some state and federal laws either bar workers in certain industries from striking, or significantly limit their right to go on strike. The Railway Labor Act (RLA), for example, applies to workers in the railroad and airline industries. Congress first passed this law in 1926, and has amended it several times. The statute makes a distinction between “major” disputes, which may arise while negotiating a CBA; and “minor” disputes, which involve disagreements about existing CBAs. Workers may go on strike because of a major dispute, but only after they have gone through a lengthy process of negotiation and mediation with management. For minor disputes, workers must use mediation procedures established by the statute. Federal courts have authority to stop a union from striking, which essentially orders the workers to go back to work."
So when the uncle pilot says that "it was not a walkout about mandates, yet" he is stating that the conditions for an actual walkout have not yet been met.... However, a 'blue flu' sort of situation seems most definitely to be underway at Southwest.
This would also fall into what I was reading about what happened. [Pilots] COULD have been sitting in the planes waiting for the ATC to give them the go ahead. Without that, they just wait with a plane full of people, sitting. They might have gotten "sick" of that and gone home.
As I understand the situation, it is not lawful for pilots to go on strike at this point in the process, so no pilot is going to state out loud that there is a walkout. However, pilots can use sick leave and vacation time to accomplish the same thing, and this seems to be what is happening. (This is similar to what police officers do when they develop the 'blue flu.')
From lawyers.com: Statutes Prohibiting Strikes in Certain Industries
"Some state and federal laws either bar workers in certain industries from striking, or significantly limit their right to go on strike. The Railway Labor Act (RLA), for example, applies to workers in the railroad and airline industries. Congress first passed this law in 1926, and has amended it several times. The statute makes a distinction between “major” disputes, which may arise while negotiating a CBA; and “minor” disputes, which involve disagreements about existing CBAs. Workers may go on strike because of a major dispute, but only after they have gone through a lengthy process of negotiation and mediation with management. For minor disputes, workers must use mediation procedures established by the statute. Federal courts have authority to stop a union from striking, which essentially orders the workers to go back to work."
So when the uncle pilot says that "it was not a walkout about mandates, yet" he is stating that the conditions for an actual walkout have not yet been met.... However, a 'blue flu' sort of situation seems most definitely to be underway at Southwest.
This would also fall into what I was reading about what happened. [Pilots] COULD have been sitting in the planes waiting for the ATC to give them the go ahead. Without that, they just wait with a plane full of people, sitting. They might have gotten "sick" of that and gone home.