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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Members of CUPE Local 8125, which represents approximately 4,400 WestJet flight attendants across Canada, take part in a \u2018Day of Action\u2019 at the departures entrance level at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, their colleagues cast strike votes. Some 4,400 flight attendants across Canada began voting July 9; the vote closes Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact of the matter is, is when I go to work, I\u2019m not paid for all the hours that I\u2019m at work,\u201d Rena Kisfalvi, a WestJet flight attendant, said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
She and colleagues say they\u2019re seeking a fair contract. They\u2019ve been without a deal since Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
Bargaining between the Alberta-based airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 8125, which represents the flight attendants, began in September. The federal labour minister assigned conciliators to assist in negotiations in May, according to WestJet.<\/p>\n
Its flight attendants could strike as early as Aug. 2, depending on vote results and ongoing contract talks.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re paid during the time planes leave and arrive at airport gates. WestJet says the pay compensates cabin crews for work done on the ground: security checks, boarding processes and pre-flight briefings.<\/p>\n
Tyson Conrod is among the WestJet flight attendants feeling shorted. He\u2019s also CUPE 8125\u2019s Winnipeg base vice-president.<\/p>\n
Flight attendants work an average 35 hours per month unpaid, Conrod said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re committed to getting those gaps closed in our collective agreement, so that all of our cabin crew are paid fairly and equitably,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to get to a place where we\u2019re on strike \u2026 We\u2019re hoping that the company is just as committed as we are to sit down at the table and come to a fair contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between 20 and 24 WestJet flights leave Winnipeg daily, depending on the season, Conrod said. The company employs 255 cabin crew at its Winnipeg base.<\/p>\n
A strike is \u201cnot going to be a pretty picture,\u201d said John Gradek, a faculty lecturer with McGill University\u2019s aviation management program.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Rena Kisfalvi, who has been a flight attendant for around 20 years, and Tyson Conrad, a flight attendant for around 18 years, speak to the media in Winnipeg on Tuesday.<\/p>\n WestJet is Canada\u2019s second-largest airline, behind Air Canada. Around 65,000 to 75,000 passengers might fly WestJet during a given summer day, Gradek said.<\/p>\n Airlines must find customers new transportation in 48 hours of their strike-affected flight or provide a refund. The number of available plane seats is already limited, Gradek said, and WestJet is \u201cnotoriously slow\u201d at refund processing.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve been travelling and you\u2019ve got a hotel reservation, you\u2019ve got a car rental reservation \u2026 you\u2019re not going to get covered for any of those expenses,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n WestJet is focused on reaching an agreement \u201cthat recognizes the contributions and professionalism of our cabin crew, while making sure WestJet remains competitive and sustainable,\u201d a company spokesperson wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n Air Canada flight attendants went on strike for three days last summer. Around 130,000 customers could be disrupted daily, Air Canada said at the time.<\/p>\n CUPE led that strike. It seems to be following a similar playbook with WestJet, Gradek said: hold solidarity demonstrations ahead of time and place a strike date in the middle of a busy season.<\/p>\n Air Canada flight attendants are now paid specifically for ground duties, which they sought. Pay starts at half their hourly wage and, over time, rises to 70 per cent. The change was in addition to general pay hikes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a \u2018me too\u2019 clause that WestJet flight attendants are looking to bring into their contract,\u201d Gradek said, adding he thinks WestJet flight attendants will get their wish. \u201cThey\u2019ve got public opinion on their side.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Winnipeg airport on Tuesday, Rowan Jordan and Erin Movold shared support for WestJet workers. The pair were catching a WestJet flight out of the city, post-folk festival.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d always prefer that the people that are responsible for my well-being while I\u2019m in the air are comfortable and being fairly compensated for their work,\u201d Movold said. \u201cI feel more safe knowing that they\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan, who regularly travels from Ontario to Halifax for school, called it \u201cabsurd\u201d flight attendants aren\u2019t paid while on the ground.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Engineer Jesse Mack says he travels between Winnipeg and Fort McMurray, Alta. every three weeks via WestJet.<\/p>\n She was echoed by Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour. He called the set-up \u201cunreasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n Meantime, Jesse Mack began thinking about alternate ways to travel between Winnipeg and Fort McMurray, Alta. next month. He was boarding a WestJet plane Tuesday to his Alberta job.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t The engineer travels home to Winnipeg every three weeks via WestJet.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be quite hard-pressed to get back and forth to work,\u201d Mack said. \u201cI\u2019m assuming that if they were on strike and everybody was trying to get a flight with Air Canada, there probably wouldn\u2019t be anything, or much left available.\u201d<\/p>\n WestJet says its cabin crew earn between $28.45 and $53.61 per hour. Its cabin managers are paid between $37.54 and $69.69 hourly.<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Airports Authority will work with all involved parties to \u201csupport the safe and efficient operation of the airport\u201d if a strike occurs, spokeswoman Kerilee Falloon wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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