Another group of workers at WestJet has taken their seat at the table with the company. Increasingly, it is only the frontline airport workers at WestJet who have no real voice in the workplace.

On Tuesday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board certified the 170 flight attendants at Swoop as part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). With this certification, almost 4,000 of WestJet's flight attendants are now unionized. WestJet’s flight attendants at the mainline and at Encore joined CUPE earlier.

Pilots at WestJet have already joined the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), and dispatchers have joined the Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association (CALDA).

That leaves only frontline airport workers, turn around crew and call centre workers without a union at WestJet, and without a voice in the workplace as the industry undergoes a massive restructuring.

With the Onex purchase of WestJet and Air Canada’s bid to take over Air Transat, which may now be facing a counter offer, the face of the airline industry is on the verge of big changes. You do not want to be left without a voice as those changes take place.

Staying quiet and seeing how things work out before deciding whether to join Unifor is a dangerous option. Even before the Onex takeover, WestJet showed that it was willing to make arbitrary and unwanted changes to policies such as scheduling, uniforms, dress codes and day to day work job duties without bothering to consult with you, the workers on the ground forced to live with their decisions.

With new owners, comes uncertainty. And without a seat at the table, important decisions will be made without you.

Do not risk being left behind without a voice while other workers at WestJet find theirs. Sign a Unifor card today, and encourage your coworkers to do the same.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your organizer.

Ontario
Billy O'Neill, Unifor
[email protected] | 416-605-1443

Quebec
Ada Zampini, Unifor
[email protected] | 514-701-6227

Prairies
Bruce Fafard, Unifor
[email protected] | 587-341-0945

British Columbia
Simon Lau, Unifor
[email protected] | 778-928-9630

Atlantic
Patrick Murray, Unifor
[email protected] | 506-850-7996