Since the beginning of the pandemic, Unifor’s priority has been to find new ways to talk to workers to make sure their voices are heard and their rights respected.

At WestJet, this has meant greater use of social media, emails, online memberships cards, and, starting just a few days ago, Zoom meetings with WestJet frontline airport workers about their concerns and how joining a union can help.

We held our first Zoom meeting with frontline airport workers in Vancouver earlier this week, and it was a great success. The meeting gave workers a chance to raise their questions, and for them to have a chance to talk to Unifor Organizers about what a union can do for them.

At the same time, more frontline airport workers have joined our discussions on the Unifor in Teal Facebook page and our WestJet WhatsApp group.

One question that has come up is about signing a Unifor membership card during the pandemic while so many workers are collecting the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB), or on the job under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), and whether they are allowed to sign a card.

The short answer is Yes. You are still employees of WestJet, and have every right to sign a card and make your voice heard. You can do that, in fact, by clicking on the Join Unifor button above and filling in the online card and paying the $5 as required by law.

Our organizers have also been asked if Unifor can help to negotiate increased recall rights if enough Westjetters sign membership cards for certification?
Again, the answer is Yes. The fact is, CUPE was able to negotiate this very thing in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Swoop and Encore flight attendants, setting a precedent that Unifor can follow on your behalf and with your input.

From the beginning of the pandemic, Unifor has been doing what unions are meant to do by reaching out to workers to alleviate anxiety and provide resources during the pandemic. Unifor organizers made multiple calls to each of you and had hundreds of conversations with WestJet card signers to offer our support and guidance.

All this is in contrast to the AEA, which has been relatively quiet – only occasionally mimicking the employer’s messaging in its memos to workers. The silence has been concerning and during our telephone calls WestJetters thanked us for reaching out. It has now become apparent that many AEA reps from across the country have been laid off unable to serve your needs.

Unifor’s staff remains on the job and is working hard to help all workers, including you. That’s why we have been able to break new ground in online and social media communications during this time, while the AEA has gone even more silent than it was before the pandemic.

Make no mistake, your voice needs to be heard during this pandemic and in the critical period after like never before. The media has begun to explore how the industry will be changed, in many ways forever, after the pandemic – including airport procedures, polices such as screening, new baggage handling procedures, distancing, uniforms that include masks and gloves and more. All this will have a direct impact on your job and your health and safety. You need a voice as such decisions are made.

WestJet will survive this pandemic, but is unlikely to look the same as it did just a couple of months before. How it changes and how that affects you is impossible to predict at this point, but you need to be part of those discussions.

In the meantime, we will continue to hold Zoom meetings, update the Facebook page and talk to workers via these platforms and through our WestJet WhatsApp group.

These discussions are vital to making sure your voice is heard, and we will continue to answer your questions through all these online tools and in future emails.

If you have any questions, or would like more information on joining into the online and social media conversations, please contact one of your organizers.

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