The airlines are spinelessly softening their original demands that all employees be vaccinated

[TexasTowelie]

3. The airlines based in Texas are caught in the crossfire.

I think that characterizing their dilemma and reaction to the conflicting mandates, as (split-infinitive aside) "spinelessly suffering" is melodramatic. Pushing numerous employees into unemployment prior to the busiest travel season of the year (Thanksgiving and Christmas) will not provide any positive press for the Biden administration. Everyone deserves due process so we'll have to be patient.

Furthermore, it does appear that Southwest is taking the situation seriously:

"The injunction that SWAPA {Southwest Airlines Pilots Association} seeks is extraordinary," Southwest said in a legal filing Saturday.

The airline argues that an approved injunction would "put SWA’s business, employees, and customers at risk because SWA would be forced to retract policies that implement basic CDC guidance and quarantine protocols." It also says the move would jeopardize its contracts with the federal government, its largest single customer, causing "substantial harm" for Southwest's business and all of its employees, including pilots represented by SWAPA.

The air carrier noted that the court does not have jurisdiction because the issue constitutes a "minor dispute" under the RLA that can be resolved through binding arbitration rather than a negotiation process that can take years to resolve. It also emphasized that the union has been in talks with SWAPA to establish a process for pilots to request religious or medical exemptions from the mandate./div]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/southwest-pilots-union-vaccine-mandate
(my apologies for the source)