Labour Day is a reminder that the rights workers have today were not simply handed to us. They were won because workers organized, stood together and decided they deserved a meaningful voice in the decisions affecting their jobs and their lives.

Today, that same work is happening across WestJet.

CONTACT CENTRE: YOUR VOTE IS COMING

After months of organizing and a lengthy process before the Canada Industrial Relations Board, WestJet Contact Centre employees are preparing to vote on joining Unifor.

The tentative voting dates are September 14 to 18. Approximately 48 hours before voting begins, the Board is expected to issue its formal Notice of Vote with the final voting details.

The classifications on the current voter list include:

APPR Agent • APPR Specialist • Central Baggage Specialist • Central Baggage Sr Specialist • Facilitation Agent • Group Sales Specialist • Guest Support Specialist • Guest Support Sr Specialist • Reservation Support Agent • Res Support Desk Agent - Home • RSD Agent • Rewards Support Specialist • Rewards Support Sr Specialist • Schedule Change Agent • Service and Sales Agent • Service and Sales Agent - Home • Special Care Agent • Specialist - Quality • Sr. Specialist • Travel Support Agent • TST Senior Specialist

The Board specifically determined that the disputed APPR, Groups and Quality classifications are included in the bargaining unit. 

For Contact Centre workers, the question is now straightforward: Do you want a real voice at work and the legal right to sit across from WestJet and negotiate your working conditions collectively?

Watch for your voting information from the Canada Industrial Relations Board. Read it carefully and, most importantly, vote.

CREW SCHEDULERS: STILL WAITING FOR A DECISION

WestJet mainline Crew Schedulers organized with Unifor and have been waiting a long time for the Board to rule on their certification application.

Because of the length of the delay, both Unifor and WestJet have contacted the Board seeking an update on the status of the application.

Unifor applied to represent mainline Crew Schedulers. WestJet has argued that mainline and Encore should constitute one bargaining unit and therefore both should be included in any certification.

Unifor’s position is that mainline and Encore operate independently and that the community of interest among mainline Crew Schedulers supports their own bargaining unit.

Those workers have done their part. We now await the Board’s decision.

YEG: BUILDING TOWARD CERTIFICATION

At YEG, WestJetters have been gathering Unifor membership cards, updating expired cards and building support for certification.

Their goal is to join their coworkers at other unionized WestJet bases and gain the opportunity to participate in collective bargaining as workers prepare to negotiate a new agreement in the coming weeks and months.

Every card signed is another worker saying: I want a real voice in my workplace.

YWG: BACK AT WESTJET AND LOOKING FOR LONG-TERM PROTECTION

In Winnipeg, airport workers are once again direct WestJet employees after years of having their work outsourced.

YWG workers experienced firsthand one of the dangers of contracting out. Since WestJet outsourced their work, these workers were flipped between third-party employers twice, creating uncertainty about who would employ them next.

Through those initial outsourcing from WestJet to third part providers, the internal AEA could not provide what a certified union can: an enforceable collective agreement, independent representation and the legal ability to hold the employer accountable.

Now that these workers are back at WestJet, Winnipeg WestJetters have been connecting with Unifor because they want to make sure their jobs stay at WestJet and that they have real representation and enforceable rights for the future.

LABOUR DAY: WORKERS HAVE ALWAYS HAD TO FIGHT FOR A VOICE

That is what connects all of these stories.

Contact Centre workers preparing to vote.

Crew Schedulers waiting for the Board.

YEG workers signing cards.

YWG workers organizing to protect their future.

And unionized WestJetters across the country preparing to bargain collectively.

Labour Day isn’t simply about celebrating the rights workers already have. It is about remembering how those rights were won.

Every generation of workers has faced its own challenges. Progress happened because ordinary workers organized, took risks, supported one another and stood together for something better.

Across WestJet, workers are doing exactly that today.

Your workplace. Your rights. Your voice.

Happy Labour Day.

Billy O'Neill
Unifor National Representative, Organizing
416.605.1443
billy.oneill@unifor.org

Lucy Alessio
Unifor National Representative, Organizing
416.998.3189
lucy.alessio@unifor.org