There must be a playbook somewhere that companies use to respond to unionization in their workplaces, because they all seem to follow the same patterns.

And, it would seem, WestJet has been sharing its copy with the AEA.

Both the company and the Airline Employees Association have put out memos in recent days attempting, and failing, to rebut some of what Unifor has been discussing with WestJet Frontline Airport Workers and Call Centre Employees over the past several weeks.

The AEA says it typically doesn’t respond to Unifor communications – and yet that seems to be the only time anyone hears from them. They failed to speak out when you needed them most on scheduling, benefits, wage (non)increases, uniforms and more.

Robert Antoniuk, WestJet’s Vice President Airports, said in a memo that there are no plans for outsourcing “today.” That’s great. How about tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that, or a year after Onex takes over?

As Antoniuk points out, “job losses can occur whether or not there is a union.” Very true. Job losses are corporate decisions that have nothing to do with unions. The difference is that with a union there are rules on layoffs that include such things as notice to workers of a pending layoff, procedures for avoiding the layoff and severance packages that often go above and beyond what the law requires.

For example, Unifor Local 2002 members at Air Canada and Jazz have language in their collective agreement protecting against contracting out. This ensures that they do not lose their jobs. When Air Canada launched Rouge, the work remained with Air Canada Customer Service workers because of the collective agreement. To contrast, when WestJet launched Swoop, they outsourced the jobs because there was no collective agreement to protect good jobs and wages.

In many cases, as Unifor has been able to do with gaming sector and auto workers, for instance, the union is also able to help affected workers find comparable jobs elsewhere – thanks to our relationship with other employers. In other words, while their employers cut their jobs, their union got them new jobs.

Antoniuk says he is “deeply troubled” by the feedback he is getting from WestJet workers who read the Onex purchase agreement and saw that there are no protections for any workers who are not in a union. But rather than address the very real and very personal fears of his staff, he instead chose to accuse Unifor of stoking those fears.

Surely by sheer coincidence, the AEA make the same unfounded accusation.

The fact is, Unifor simply pointed out a very inconvenient truth about WestJet and its purchase by Onex: without a union, Onex makes no promises about your future with the company. These are Onex’s words and WestJet agreed to it. The fact that neither WestJet nor the AEA addressed this until Unifor pointed it out should be very concerning.

Antoniuk also says he is “focused on protecting and enhancing airport jobs.” That’s great, but it’s not worth the paper it’s written on until that paper is a collective agreement signed by both the employer and the Unifor bargaining committee.

At least, that’s what the Onex purchase agreement says.

One good piece of advice the AEA offers in their communication is to talk to Unifor, ask us hard questions and “take the information they give you.” Once you’ve done that and would like to sign a Unifor membership card or would like to find out how to help your co-workers sign a card, please contact one of your Unifor Organizers.

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