Urgent: Protect Your Job from Outsourcing – Sign Your Unifor Membership Card Today

Onex WestJet has already outsourced all Tier Two and Three airport bases across Canada
WestJet announced Contact Centre work outsourcing to TELUS Digital on October 21, 2024.
Onex has a history of cutting jobs through outsourcing and selling companies for profit.
CCEA and TAPS workers risk job loss without a union to protect them.
Signing your Unifor membership card is the only way to secure your job and prevent further outsourcing.

WestJet CCEA and TAPS Workers,

This message comes at a critical moment. Two months ago, Unifor warned you about the growing threat of outsourcing at WestJet, especially for Contact Centre workers. Unfortunately, our warning has now become a reality. On October 21, 2024, WestJet announced it would be outsourcing part of its Contact Centre operations to TELUS Digital, with jobs being moved overseas to El Salvador.

The risk of losing your job to outsourcing is no longer just a possibility—it is happening right now.

This isn’t just about CCEA jobs. TAPS workers are next in line. WestJet's parent company, Onex, has a history of cutting costs through outsourcing and selling companies for profit. Your jobs in IT, administrative services, operations, and customer support are all at risk of following the same outsourcing pattern. Onex WestJet has already outsourced all Tier Two and Three airport bases across Canada, eliminating local jobs in those regions. Without action, your department could face the same fate.

Onex's History of Outsourcing and Selling Companies for Profit

Onex’s actions at WestJet are not new. This investment firm has done the same at other companies before, putting profits ahead of workers’ livelihoods:

Spirit Airlines (2006): Onex acquired Spirit, restructured operations, outsourced jobs, and turned it into an ultra-low-cost carrier before selling its stake in 2013 for a significant profit.
Hawker Beechcraft (2007): Onex purchased this aircraft manufacturer, outsourced parts of production, and laid off workers. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy, and Onex sold it off in 2013.
Spirit AeroSystems (2005): After purchasing this aircraft parts manufacturer, Onex shifted production and outsourced jobs to cut costs. A year later, the company was taken public, generating substantial profits for Onex.
Sitel Worldwide (2008): Onex acquired this global customer service outsourcing firm, expanded its offshore operations, and eventually sold its stake in 2015 after increasing profitability through outsourcing.

These examples make it clear: Onex’s business model is built on outsourcing jobs to lower-cost regions to increase profits. This is already happening at WestJet, and without protection, it will continue across more departments and workgroups.

What You Can Do to Protect Your Job

If you don’t act now, more jobs at WestJet, including yours, could be outsourced to companies like TELUS Digital, which was recently rebranded from TELUS International—a company that operates globally across five continents, specializing in outsourcing customer service and technical support. TELUS Digital's operations outside Canada mean that your jobs may be moved to regions with cheaper labor, like the El Salvador service centre now taking over some Contact Centre work. The outsourcing decision, framed as a temporary solution for peak periods, is part of a broader trend by Onex WestJet to cut costs at the expense of your job security.

Without union protection, your work could easily be shifted to lower-cost regions, stripping opportunities from local workers and damaging the communities you and your colleagues have helped build. TELUS Digital's global reach highlights the stark reality: the people doing your jobs may soon no longer be your neighbours or community members but workers in distant countries where labour is cheaper, even as unemployment remains high in places like Calgary.

The Call Centre Employee Association (CCEA) has done nothing to stop this. It is a weak, employer-controlled organization that lacks the legal power to negotiate on your behalf or protect your jobs. You can expect the same from The Technical and Professional Services Employees Association (TAPS).

By joining Unifor, you’ll gain the legal power to bargain collectively and protect your job from being outsourced. Unifor will fight for you and protect your job security, working conditions, and future.

Time is Running Out

The threat is real, and the time to act is now. WestJet has already begun outsourcing Contact Centre jobs, and without the protection of Unifor, the same could happen across the TAPS group. If we don’t act now, it will be too late.

Take control of your future by signing your Unifor membership card today. Only together can we stand strong against outsourcing and ensure that WestJet workers—who helped build this company—are not left behind. Your job, your rights, and your future are worth protecting.

Sign your Unifor membership card today to secure your job and protect your future. If you have any questions or need more information, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Unifor organizing team.

Time is of the essence. Don’t wait for your job to be the next casualty of outsourcing.

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]

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