More than 4,000 WestJet flight attendants are expected to vote in favour of a strike mandate that could allow members to legally walk off the job as early as Aug. 2, two experts told the Star.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 8125 will release the results of the vote early Wednesday morning.
The union has been bargaining with the Calgary-based carrier since last fall for a new collective agreement to replace the one that expired on Dec. 31, 2025. The union encourages members to vote in favour of strike to strengthen its bargaining position.
“My membership seems very mobilized,” said Alia Hussain, president of CUPE 8152, “so we’re very hopeful that we get a strong mandate.”
The flight attendants’ union must provide 72 hours’ notice before it can legally walk off the job.
Ground-duty pay was a sticking point in Air Canada flight attendant talks
WestJet flight attendants are among the lowest-paid in Canada, Hussain said, and have performed unpaid work, including during flight delays and while handling ground evacuations and medical emergencies. Those issues, she added, are among the main sticking points in bargaining.
Ground-duty pay emerged as one of the most contentious issues in Air Canada flight attendants’ contract fight last summer. The dispute culminated in a roughly 72-hour strike that cancelled hundreds of flights.
The airline eventually agreed to compensate flight attendants for ground duty at 50 per cent of their hourly rate for the hour before takeoff, increasing to 70 per cent by the fourth year of the contract.
But Hussain called the Air Canada deal “barely a win,” arguing that it does not compensate flight attendants for hours spent working during delays.
“We want all hours paid,” she said. “However, we’re looking to be reasonable, and we’re looking to find a deal.”
WestJet pays its crew members based on a complex “credit hour system.” The airline considers 80 credit hours a month full-time work and pays a starting rate of $28.80 an hour as of January 2025, which amounts to $2,304 a month.
Low wages force 30 to 40 per cent of flight attendants to have side jobs to make ends meet, Hussain said.
“The system has to end,” she said, “and it’s not enough for big corporations that rake in billions to say that they can’t afford to pay their largest working groups, who are predominantly women.”
Ground pay is a non-negotiable and could spark West Jet strike
WestJet did not respond to the Star’s request for comment but claims on its website that its credit-hour system covers all duty time, both on the ground and in the air.
Steven Tufts, an associate professor of labour at York University, told the Star he expects the union to secure an overwhelmingly strong strike mandate.
“WestJet has to give ground pay,” said Tufts. “It’s a generational change in the way flight attendants are compensated.”
Ground pay is non-negotiable for the union,” he argued, and could trigger a strike if WestJet does not agree to the demand.
The question is whether the federal government will intervene and send the dispute to arbitration before a strike even begins, Tufts said, adding that such a move could put the government at odds with labour advocates.
Tufts said he would not be surprised if Prime Minister Mark Carney chose to intervene, given his focus on building Canada into an “unimpeded trading economy.”
Air Canada set precedent with its flight attendants
John Gradek, a lecturer in aviation management at McGill University, who also expects an overwhelming strike mandate, said it is difficult to predict how WestJet will address the union’s key demand, given the airline’s long-standing position on keeping costs down.
“Air Canada set the precedent, and WestJet, as much as they won’t like it, they have no choice but to get on the bandwagon.”
Hussain told the Star that she would like to believe that the airline would come to the table with a solution.
“The union is committed because the last thing we want our Canadian travelling public to experience is another strike,” she said. “We don’t want that at all.”
