On June 26, Unifor celebrates the inaugural Airport Workers Day, organized by the Canadian Airports Council (CAC), which shows appreciation for airport workers across Canada.

We want to honour the 16,000 skilled and dedicated Unifor air transportation members who work tirelessly, going the extra mile, whether it’s maintaining and operating airport facilities, security, checking passengers in at the kiosk, handling baggage, and being wayfinders for passengers when they land, directing traffic, piloting the aircraft, attending to passengers in flight or maintaining the aircraft. The union also thanks the many other aviation workers providing outstanding services, day after day.

They all play an integral role in connecting people to communities and Canadians to the world. As the CAC beautifully puts it, “Air transportation is only possible because of a dynamic network of specialists working diligently in concert to ensure the safe and seamless movement of people and goods.”

Beautifully written statements are nice, but showing appreciation for air transport workers requires more than words. These workers need better working conditions and the industry needs to take action now.

Unifor also recognizes the critical contributions of WestJet Call Centre and Campus employees in supportive roles within the air transportation sector. These workers, often overlooked, are integral to the seamless operation and customer service excellence that passengers rely on. Their inclusion in our advocacy efforts underscores Unifor’s commitment to improving conditions for all workers across the industry.

Unifor’s Air Transportation Workers’ Charter of Rights lays out nine concrete changes the government, airports, and the whole industry need to make to truly show that air transportation workers are appreciated.

Workers in the sector need fair wages with the requirement of a living wage. They need fair scheduling practices and the opportunity to work one full-time job instead of multiple part-time ones to make ends meet.

Airport workers need to finally see an end to the worst effects of contract flipping through the implementation of full-successor rights. Workers need to be consulted and have meaningful input to ensure technological change improves service and doesn’t make working conditions worse.

Employers in this sector need to stop phoning it in on training and actually create robust, skills development programs that combine multiple methods of learning including on-the-job training and class-room style programs where appropriate.

Airports, airlines, and governments continue to underestimate the value and complexity of the work air transport workers perform. Senior workers should not be informally relied upon to pick up the slack for newer workers who have not been properly trained.

Talk with your coworkers about the advantages of being a Unifor member and join together by signing a membership card.

***Once you add your name, you will receive a link to sign an Adobe Digital Card

Share this link to sign a confidential Unifor membership card online and pay the $5 fee as required by law join.unifor.org/WestJet  

In solidarity,

Billy O’Neill
Unifor National Representative Organizing
416.605.1443
[email protected]

Lucy Alessio
Unifor National Coordinator Organizing
416.998.3189
[email protected]