Gravelbourg & District Tribune

Remember when WestJet was employee owned? Not anymore.

 

WestJet settled with the striking flight attendants but not before they cancelled 500 flights. Passengers were upset. They should be. The strike was not necessary. The corporate media spent a lot of time documenting how the cancelled flights upset so many people. Flight attendants were ignored. Why? Because ‘unions do not engage in bargaining outside the bargaining process,” explained Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) spokesperson Lisa Lambert by email, “so all media requests went to the bargaining committee/executive of the local as they were the only ones able to speak for their members’ collective agreement.”

 

This was reported in an article by Maple an independent media outlet.

 

Ever wonder why WestJet, a duopoly, doesn’t want to pay flight attendants at least minimum wage? Attendants aren’t paid for preparation on the planes, boarding and ground holds – they get paid only when the plane takes to the air. They were striking only wanting to be paid for the work they were doing.

 

CUPE said, “A full-time junior flight attendant works roughly 1,920 hours a year but is only paid for 960 flown hours, bringing home just $27,725 a year.”

 

We’ve managed to abolish some slavery but not corporate slavery.