Bargaining Update 36: Negotiations Continue - Stay United

Dear Members,

Today marks a historic moment as WestJet Mainline Flight Attendants stand together in the first lawful strike in our group's history. The unity demonstrated by our membership sends a clear message: our goal has always been to achieve a fair collective agreement that recognizes the value of the work Cabin Crew perform every day.

Following the Company's communication on details from the bargaining room, we believe it is important to provide members with additional context.  The Company has suggested that the remaining issues are largely resolved. We do not share that view.

Their proposal represents movement and, for the first time, acknowledges that work performed outside of flight time deserves compensation, a reality Cabin Crew have always known.

We welcome that recognition.

We have seen this before. The current flight credit system was introduced with the promise of fairly compensating Cabin Crew. Over time, that promise eroded, leaving members routinely performing required work without being fully compensated.

This proposal moves the conversation forward, but it still places too little value on that work and only compensates for it in limited circumstances. That is why we cannot responsibly replace one system with another, unless we are confident it will deliver fair and lasting recognition for all required work.

Our position remains simple: when Cabin Crew are required to work, that work should be fairly recognized and fairly compensated. The Company has made meaningful progress. We are asking them to take the final step and deliver a solution that resolves the problem for the long term.

IN SUMMARY

Collective agreements are built to last. The systems we negotiate today will govern our profession for years to come. Our responsibility is not to secure language that appears to address the issue on paper, but language that provides a stable, durable foundation that fairly recognizes work whenever it is performed.

We remain deeply disappointed that the Company has chosen to park aircraft rather than reach an agreement that fairly compensates its valued Cabin Crew.

Parking aircraft and cancelling flights are decisions made by the Company. They are not an inevitable consequence of this dispute. Throughout this process, our Bargaining Committee has remained at the table, ready and willing to negotiate a fair collective agreement.

That distinction matters.

This dispute has never been about creating disruption. It has always been about correcting a longstanding compensation model that requires Cabin Crew to perform significant amounts of unpaid work. Labour peace can be restored at any time through meaningful bargaining that addresses the underlying issue rather than managing its symptoms.

Stand by for further instructions.

In unity,

Your WestJet Mainline Bargaining Committee