Dear Members,

As your federally certified and exclusive bargaining agent, your Union, as represented at the negotiating table by your elected Bargaining Committee, are right in front of the finish line of the Collective Bargaining process for the WS Collective Agreement (CA).

All elements of our CA that had been deferred or parked during the bargaining process, as well as all monetary items, have been proposed by the Company in one large final Article. Should the parties come to an agreement on this final Article, we will have a Tentative Collective Agreement (TCA) to present to you for ratification vote.

The Union and the Company have spent seven (7) days at the bargaining table in November working on coming to agreement on this final twenty-six (26) page article. This is without question the most significant part of these negotiations.

The Company’s initial proposal on all monetary items for this CA, as well as all outstanding issues from previous negotiations, was completely unacceptable. The Employer’s presentation began with a fifteen (15) minute speech as to the unprecedented and perilous times that the Company finds itself in. With complete respect, the Union does not disagree – however, there was not one word in this diatribe that recognized, or even mentioned, the heroic and tireless work that our Members have contributed on the frontline of the largest global pandemic of our lifetimes. We as CUPE 4070 WestJet Cabin Crew Members, alongside our Members from WestJet Encore and Swoop, have kept this Company flying throughout this crisis, all the while performing with industry leading SPOT and reliability levels.

This proposal from the Company was clear and consistent with some of their past proposals: ‘The Flight Attendants will carry us through. They’ll just buck up and do it.’

It is time for our efforts to be recognized with the seriousness and respect that our roles command, especially during this pandemic.

While COVID-19 has caused significant hardship for the industry, the Company chose to not only provide an offer which included concessions and wage freezes, but also to propose a term (length of contract) that would lock these in for a number of years well beyond any international guidance for global air travel recovery. The term proposed, in conjunction with the details in the offer, was quite simply unacceptable to each of us.

The Union unequivocally rejected these proposals, and vocalized our displeasure with presenting such a document at the bargaining table. Bargaining a Collective Agreement is a process that both parties have a split responsibility for.

It was extremely disappointing to see and hear the level of regard that this Company appears to have for its Cabin Crew Members.

The Union, in responsibility to our Membership took the rest of the evening to regroup and allow an adequate period to grasp this proposal.

After significant time crafting a return counter-proposal to the Company, and ensuring our interests were balanced with our Company’s, the Union returned a revised proposal to the Company. The week ended with our counter-proposal in the hands of the Company for reply, although it did not appear to land well with the Management team.

The next week began with the Company taking more time to compile their next counteroffer. Late on day one of this week, they presented their offer. This offer did demonstrate some movement on certain areas of concern for the Union. The offer was received and understood, and the Union took this away to develop a second counter-proposal. After a day and a half of Union work in caucus, we had a document ready to present back to Management. The presentation of Union counter-proposal #2 was met with questions and some exploration into key points for both sides. The Company took this proposal away to work on their next counter-proposal to the Union.

As of today, December 1, the Company has the Union’s Counter Proposal #2, and the Union awaits a response which is expected tomorrow afternoon.

The next planned rounds of Bargaining for the WestJet Collective Agreement are scheduled to take place:

December 1 – 2, 2020

December 4, 2020

January 5 – 7, 2021

January 26 – 28, 2021

Please note: while these dates are booked to meet the Company in collective negotiations, we could come to a deal at any time rendering further dates unnecessary.

The Union could file for federal (non-binding) conciliation if it becomes clear that we won’t reach a negotiated agreement on these final issues. This process lasts sixty (60) days once it begins, and should a deal not be reached by the end of that period, our Union Members would be in a position to take legal job action* following a mandatory twenty-one (21) day “cooling off period”.

(* Legal job action includes work-to-rule, targeted strike and general strike action. Job action requires a Strike Vote mandate from the Union Membership following the 60-day federal conciliation period. Before holding a Strike Vote, your Union would fully brief all Members on what has occurred at the bargaining table that brings us to ask you for a Strike Mandate to help solve our differences with the Company.)

For a number of months, we have provided guidance that the Union was targeting the conclusion of bargaining for our WestJet CCMs, and to present a CA to you for a ratification vote prior to the end of 2020. As you can see, we are at the end of negotiations, however, the draconian approach that the Employer has taken at this final stage in negotiations is preventing the Union from agreeing to their unacceptable demands.

You have told us what your priorities are, both prior to negotiations beginning, and daily since the pandemic has decimated our industry. Your Union refuses to agree to put a CA in front of you, the Membership, that we would not endorse nor recommend for ratification as Cabin Crew Members ourselves.

We will provide you with another Bargaining Update next week following the final three (3) days of negotiations in 2020 which end on Friday.

Please note: we have created a Rand Member form on our website to collect contact information from Members who have not signed a union card to become a ‘Member in Good Standing’. Please help us by sharing this link with any of your friends and colleagues that have not signed their union card so that we can collect their information and send them the appropriate voting links when the time comes, and subscribe them to our email distribution list: https://www.cupe4070.ca/rand-members. By completing this form, you will not become a Member in Good Standing, you are simply providing your contact information to the Union so that you may participate in a contract ratification vote and/or strike vote. **If you are already a Member in Good Standing, please do not fill-out this form.**

If you have any questions about the Collective Bargaining process, please contact your Mobilizing Team at:  weare4070@cupe4070.ca.

In Solidarity,
Your CUPE 4070 Executive Team