That's obviously not a blanket case of "AMFA bag handlers categorically refuse to use bag scanner tech" but rather "SW, unlike other airlines, didn't negotiate (early enough) the use of bag scanners in its contract with AMFA bag handlers."
SW decides what their priorities are when negotiating these contracts and deciding the terms. Other airlines obviously prioritized bag scanner tech and made the necessary tradeoffs to make it happen while SW didn't. Half the blame at the very least should be apportioned to SW.
The fact that a provision was required tells me there was already a provision, negotiated by the AMFA, requiring bag handling to be done a certain way to protect jobs by indirectly limiting innovation and automation.
I didn’t say it was categorically anyone’s fault, I just wanted to illustrate that airlines have unusual constraints on them so assigning blame to any one party is hard. The limitation are unusual compared to what we experience in less regulated, less unionized industries.
SW decides what their priorities are when negotiating these contracts and deciding the terms. Other airlines obviously prioritized bag scanner tech and made the necessary tradeoffs to make it happen while SW didn't. Half the blame at the very least should be apportioned to SW.