Canadians may have to rethink their upcoming travel plans, as WestJet Airlines faces a massive strike.
As of Thursday, 91% of the airline’s pilots voted in favour of strike action. Now, they may walk off duty as early as May 19th.
With that in mind, the union states that it won’t strike until after Victoria Day. They recognize that this is a peak travel time, and they want to leave Westjetters’ itineraries unaffected.
On May 8th, they held an informational picket in front of the WestJet headquarters to show management that the 1500 Union Pilots stand together. Specifically, they stated that #TimeIsRunningOut for a new contract.
The picket demonstrates the pilots’ resolve for a fair contract that addresses the large gaps in proposals on total compensation, working conditions, and job security.
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“The goal is—and always has been—to secure a fair collective agreement that brings stability to the airline, and not to strike,” said Capt. Rob McFadyen, chairman of WestJet’s ALPA Master Executive Council.
“The strong results of our strike vote and the excellent turnout at our informational picketing event earlier this week should provide management the added incentive it needs to bring serious proposals to the bargaining table that address our concerns.”
BREAKING: 91% of @WestJet #pilots voted to authorize a strike. However, the pilots will not strike until after the #VictoriaDay weekend to ensure #WestJetters’ travel plans are unaffected.
— WestJet ALPA Pilots (@WestJetALPA) May 10, 2018
WestJet Strike
In addition, the Union representing 12,700 pilots at United Airlines showed their on Twitter. A picture shows United Airlines pilots at the Westjet headquarters proudly holding signs that read, “We stand with WestJet pilots.”
Pilots from Delta Airlines also showed their support at the international picketing event.
.@UnitedPilots stand unified with @WestJetALPA brothers and sisters in their fight for a fair contract #WestJet #WeAreALPA pic.twitter.com/d1aAkBM63S
— United Airlines Pilots (@UnitedPilots) May 8, 2018
In response to the strike vote mandate, Air Canada announced it is adding capacity on key transcontinental routes by up-gauging aircraft on certain flights. These operate from its primary global hub in Toronto to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax. And, from Vancouver to Calgary, Edmonton, and from Calgary to Montreal.
We’ve now added capacity on key transcontinental routes in response to the @WestJet strike vote mandate. More: https://t.co/13XSPijbAN
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) May 10, 2018
Negotiators will now head to Halifax to continue negotiations starting next week. Further, they are committed to staying there for as long as it takes to get a deal done.
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 60,000 pilots at 34 airlines in the United States and Canada, including the approximately 1,500 WestJet pilots and approximately 500 WestJet Encore pilots as well as pilots at Air Georgian, Air Transat, Bearskin, Calm Air, Canadian North, First Air, Jazz Aviation, Kelowna Flightcraft, and Wasaya.
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