(Local President Karen Berry and YYC Chairperson Sherwin Antonio)

Yesterday was a powerful day of solidarity and learning with elected representatives from Unifor Local 531, the union representing 1,700 WestJetters in YVR, YYC, and YYZ.

• In the morning session, workplace representatives from YYC, Melanie Isles and Evalee Finley, joined us.
• For the afternoon, we welcomed Local President Karen Berry and YYC Chairperson Sherwin Antonio.
• The evening session closed with Karen Berry connecting by Zoom.

These sessions gave us the chance to hear about grassroots organizing methods used by WestJetters in their successful journey to join the union. Members also shared insights into the collective bargaining process, how they’re already preparing for their next contract in 2026, and how they intend to make even greater gains.

A key highlight: in their first agreement, Local 531 negotiated job protection from outsourcing—a major win that shows exactly what’s possible. This type of language would directly benefit Contact Centre workers and will be a priority in any future agreements negotiated with new members.

Today’s Meetings: Don’t Miss Out

Thursday, Sept 25

• 9:00 am → Join Zoom | Meeting ID: 924 4664 6396 | Passcode: 353184
• 1:00 pm → Join Zoom | Meeting ID: 920 0312 7922 | Passcode: 009869
• 5:00 pm → Join Zoom | Meeting ID: 917 9996 9512 | Passcode: 083083

We encourage everyone to attend today’s meetings to hear about the next steps in the Contact Centre and TAPS unionization campaign and how we move forward together.

What You Can Do Right Now

To build the strongest application possible, we need accurate employee lists. You can help by simply replying to this email with the names of people in your job classification. For example, if you work in RSD, GSUP, RSUP, or SSC, let us know how many people are on your team and who they are. This small action is essential to building an accurate map of your workplace and ensuring we reach majority support.

Remember: this campaign succeeds when all of us take ownership. It can’t fall only to a few—it takes solidarity and commitment from everyone. What you build today is the foundation of a strong unionized group that will set the agenda for good Canadian jobs in the future.

Spotlight on Inside Organizers

In the days ahead, we’ll begin introducing some of the inside organizers who are stepping up to support this campaign. If you’d like to introduce yourself as a key inside organizer, send us a note—we’ll work with you to take the next steps.

Every action brings us closer to the day we’ve been working toward: the day we have enough support to file our application with the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

In solidarity,

Billy O’Neill
Unifor National Representative, Organizing
📞 416.605.1443
✉️ billy.oneill@unifor.org

Lucy Alessio
Unifor National Coordinator, Organizing
📞 416.998.3189
✉️ lucy.alessio@unifor.org

Don’t wait—click here to sign your card today!