Southwest DOES have an amazing benefits program-that is true. However, new hires, think twice before committing to this airlines. Federal law prohibits SWA from ASKING about family/kids/ marital status/disability/sexual orientation and religious standing. So here is how they go about WEEDING OUT all of you who DO have young children/or caregiving for a family member or a pastor at a church/worship member/or someone with a disability.
THEY WARN YOU OVER 500 times during your visit to Federal Week Training-NOT TO MISS A DAY OF WORK OR BE LATE. Over a dozen employees will randomly walk into your training week and assertively warn you of all the ways you can be let go. BY BEING TARDY or LATE or having occurances. Three strikes and your out.! They do not care about a sick kid at home or a traffic jam or a medical appt. They purposefully warn, tell, write, and point out that they do not allow tardiness/lateness/or calling out....for whatever reason. Let that sink in. Think long and hard if you have young children or you are caregiving for someone just what will happen if they get sick...SWA will strike you down one two three. And before you go into la la land and give SWA your all, they WILL take full advantage of giving you MANDATORY DOUBLE Shifts. You will have ZERO control over your life during the first 6 months and you will have grueling shifts. The most annoying shifts will be YOURS. You are NOT allowed to opt out of overtime. Can you be away from your kids/duties/life more than 16 hours a day ?
They also make you tell the group about "yourself" repeatedly (and they TAKE NOTES). Be warned that if you say "children or have another job", they will be waiting for the day you don't show up. They LISTEN to what you say without asking you about your children status, marital status, religious standings, disability. They HOPE you will bring that up during first week of training. They are simply systematically preparing themselves for your no-show or absence.
And one last thing they do: in some states, they fly you OUT of your station to train in a location that is unfamiliar to you, and NO you cannot bring a plus one. Its a way for them to see how comfortable you are being AWAY from your family caregiving situations.
I guarantee this is a well thought out tactic that works for SWA. Good for them. Im not saying anything untrue, its just facts. If you DONT have familial obligations or worship routines, and can work double shifts, this company is FOR YOU. Its a fantastic place to work, just be prepared.
