The more WestJet changes things, the more you need a voice
The last few weeks, it seems like WestJet keeps making arbitrary changes and decisions that show how important it is to have a voice in the workplace.
In one of its most recent changes, to uniforms, the role of a voice in the workplace was on full display. Just days after announcing new uniforms, including directives on the types of glasses you can wear to work, WestJet backed off and announced that it will phase in changes much more slowly.
Make no mistake, the company did this because its workers are finding their voice and speaking out on changes to the conditions of work. Unifor was among those voices, making your opinions known. Imagine what we could do as your official bargaining agent.
CUPE, for instance, will be meeting with the company to discuss what the new uniforms will be and how they will be rolled out. Their insistence of having such a meeting, no doubt, was a big part of why the company backed off – and that effort by CUPE is much appreciated.
Frontline airport workers, however, cannot be part of those discussions. To make sure your voice is heard, you need to be part of a union.
The same goes as the company implements new scheduling procedures, such as the massive changes going on now for Turn Around Crew. (TAC). With a union, scheduling procedures are spelled out in the collective agreement, and any changes must be negotiated by your union. Without a union, without a voice in the workplace, the company can make any changes it likes, whenever it wants.
Through all this, the AEA has failed to stand up for the rights of WestJet frontline workers. It could have spoken up on uniforms. It could have spoken up on scheduling. It could have stood up for TAC workers. It did not. Only a union will fully represent your interests in the workplace.
Collective agreements also typically spell out procedure for sick days, and the role of managers when you call in sick. We have heard reports recently of managers calling people at home when they are sick. This is an intrusive and unsettling development, but one Unifor has experience dealing with, and which our collective agreements typically address.
To get that, however, you need to be part of a union and to have a voice in the workplace.
To sign a union card, please contact one of your Organizers. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.
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
Murray Gore, Unifor
[email protected] | 604-671-9141
Atlantic
Patrick Murray, Unifor
[email protected] | 506-850-7996
