Within a week of the announcement that Onex was buying WestJet, Air Canada announced that it is in exclusive talks to buy Air Transat.

Just days before, there had even been speculation that Onex might be the one to buy Air Transat and merge it with WestJet. Now it seems that won’t happen.

And all this follows months of similar but less high-profile changes in the industry, including the merger of Bearskin Airlines and Perimeter late last year.

Clearly, there is a great deal of turmoil in the industry right now - and as the speculation earlier this month on who might buy Transat shows, it is extremely difficult to predict where things are headed.

At times like these, it is increasingly important that workers have a voice in the workplace.

Onex undoubtedly has plans for WestJet. Onex is a private equity firm that buys companies, increases the shareholder value and then resells the companies at a profit for the investors who helped it buy the company.

At this point, however, it is simply not known how Onex will achieve that goal. It could make massive cuts, or massive investments. We just don’t know – and we don’t know how all the fallout from all the other big changes might affect Onex’s plans for WestJet.

All we know is that the industry of today could look very different in a few years as we embark on a period of some profound structural changes.

With all this going on, it is simply too risky to leave yourself without a voice. The industry you have known and loved is changing. Make sure your needs and interests are heard as all this goes on. Waiting until the changes come means leaving things too late. You need a voice now.

Sign a Unifor membership card, and encourage your friends and co-workers to do the same.

If you have any questions, please contact one of your organizers.

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