Westjet strike prevented with a Unifir handshake

WestJet workers in Calgary and Vancouver have reached a tentative first collective agreement, avoiding service interruptions before Tuesday’s strike deadline.

“This bargaining committee has worked very hard over the last nine months to negotiate this first agreement that brings long overdue wage increases and improvements to working conditions,” said Scott Doherty, lead negotiator, and Assistant to the National President.

Unifor Local 531 represents nearly 800 baggage service agents, customer service agents, and guest service leads in Calgary and Vancouver airports after being certified in May of 2021.

Bargaining began in October 2021, and Unifor Local 531 filed for conciliation with the Canadian government on April 26, 2022.

Details of the new agreement will first be presented to members at ratification meetings later this week.

“We are proud to present what we have negotiated to our members, and I want to thank them for their patience, support, and solidarity during what has been a long and challenging process,” said Sherwin Antonio, a member of Local 531’s Calgary Bargaining Committee. 

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad and strives to create progressive change for a better future.