It is a bold and courageous step to help bring the union into your workplace, and your commitment to fairness, dignity and respect will help to bring a successful outcome for your organizing drive.

Your hard work will help you to become part of an organization that has become a force in the Canadian labour movement and on the international labour front.

You have told us about Health and Safety concerns, unfairness in job posting procedures, favouritism for some workers and others feeling a lack of respect from management. By doing so, you have already begun the work needed to make WestJet a better place to work and build a career.

When you sign a union membership card it brings you a bit closer to fairness in your workplace. When you ask a friend or co-worker to sign a card, as well, you are building on that effort and getting even closer to gaining a collective voice.

Joining the union certainly doesn’t come easy. But with your commitment, you are on your way to bringing about long-lasting change and fairness into your workplace. Despite tremendous pressures from companies trying to discourage workers, they show courage and join unions every day.

Each day we see more WestJetters making the choice to join with their co-workers in helping to bring Unifor into the workplace. They understand that in this new WestJet under the leadership of Onex, having a legally binding collective voice as union members is the only true way to have a say in future workplace changes.

All workplaces change and evolve over time. Sometimes this change is gradual, as we’ve seen at WestJet until now as it grew from a regional airline to national and international. Sometimes that change is fast, such as when a new owner comes in with new ideas, as we are only beginning to see with Onex.

In both cases, and especially with new owners and a faster pace of change, you need a voice to ensure that your rights and those of your co-workers are respected. This is something workers across Canada have discovered, as shown in some of the stories in this video. Have a look and please share it with your coworkers.

Thank you, again, for taking the first steps to bringing a union to WestJet Frontline Airport Workers. There is much left to be done, and together we will get there.

If you have any questions, or would like to talk an organizer, please be in touch.

All calls are confidential.

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