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Because the executives at Southwest can't just make that accusation without enormous evidence that it's true. It's legally dangerous ground for a lot of reasons

Because the executives at Southwest can't just make that accusation without enormous evidence that it's true. It's legally dangerous ground for a lot of reasons, because the pilots are federally prohibited from pulling sick-outs. Falsely accusing someone of breaking a federal law, a law that is very important to their job and industry, can come back on you in an epic way given the stakes here. That would be an opening for a giant lawsuit and that's the best case scenario for Southwest if they did something that stupid. > saying that other people are breaking the law is not a crime. You do not want that claim to be false - you do not want to be wrong and or unable to prove your out-on-a-ledge position - if you go around making very substantial accusations like that (eg stating the pilots are pulling a sick-out), which can directly threaten the livelihoods/careers of the pilots. If you're wrong or otherwise can't back up your claims, you just made a mistake that will cost shareholders an expensive legal settlement and possibly get you fired.

dragonwriter 5y ago
> Because the executives at Southwest can't just make that accusation without enormous evidence that it's true. Of course they can. Executives and unions make accusations of illegal labor relations conduct on the other side on flimsy evidence all the time. And especially when it is nonspecific as to individuals (e.g., alleging a sick-out is occurring without alleging any particular employees sick leave was abused), it is safer, legally, than many of the accusations routinely made between labor and management. (There might be good political and labor relations reasons for declining to characterize it that way with, or even with, strong evidence that it is true, but that's a different issue than legal reasons.) > You do not want that claim to be false Honestly, false or true, it would be suicide for a union President to say it, unless it was part of an internal factional fight in the Union and the faction doing it was already irrevocably opposed to the union president. And even then, its basically admitting that that faction has the power to bring the firm to its knees and you can't constrain them...

dragonwriter 5y ago

> Because the executives at Southwest can't just make that accusation without enormous evidence that it's true. Of course they can. Executives and unions make accusations of illegal labor relations conduct on the other side on flimsy evidence all the time. And especially when it is nonspecific as to individuals (e.g., alleging a sick-out is occurring without alleging any particular employees sick leave was abused), it is safer, legally, than many of the accusations routinely made between labor and management. (There might be good political and labor relations reasons for declining to characterize it that way with, or even with, strong evidence that it is true, but that's a different issue than legal reasons.) > You do not want that claim to be false Honestly, false or true, it would be suicide for a union President to say it, unless it was part of an internal factional fight in the Union and the faction doing it was already irrevocably opposed to the union president. And even then, its basically admitting that that faction has the power to bring the firm to its knees and you can't constrain them...