More than 500 WestJet employees in Vancouver and Calgary have unionized with Unifor, saying a change in workplace culture after the airline鈥檚 sale was a big part of the workplace organization efforts.

The 531 WestJet workers 鈥� which include airport agents such as customer service workers 鈥� join more than 7,000 other unionized airline workers with Unifor under carriers like Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz.

鈥淵ou went from the perception of 鈥榳e鈥檙e teammates, it鈥檚 a family culture,鈥� to being owned by Onex, which is a huge, huge company,鈥� said Unifor president Jerry Dias, referencing WestJet鈥檚 owner, Onex Corp., which acquired the airline nearly two years ago.

鈥淥nex operated different than the old WestJet for sure, one of the first things that happened was the unilateral outsourcing of so many jobs in some of the smaller bases.鈥�

The union said the workplace organization efforts will help ensure that senior employees are the first to be called back in an eventual reopening of the airline industry.

WestJet said it has received notice of the union鈥檚 successful application and will work through the next steps with the national labour board.

鈥淲estJet respects鈥痶he individual rights of employees to choose their representation and will continue to work with鈥痶he Canada Industrial Relations Board to provide the outstanding required information鈥痠n response to the application,鈥� said spokeswoman Morgan Bell in an email.

Unifor Organizing Director Kellie Scanlan said conversations with WestJet workers had been going on prior to the pandemic, and moved online after COVID-19 hit.

She said unionization efforts are continuing at WestJet鈥檚 bases in Toronto and Edmonton as well.

鈥淲e feel very optimistic about the future of both of those places,鈥� said Scanlan, who said they鈥檙e working on getting more membership cards signed.

鈥淭his win shows WestJet workers across Canada that they too can gain a voice in the workplace.鈥�

The union said workplace organization has been part of the successful lobbying effort for financial support for the airline industry from the federal government amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sherwin Antonio, a customer service agent with WestJet in Calgary, said the unionization will help protect workers during the uncertainty of the pandemic.

鈥淭his last year has been extremely difficult for WestJet employees,鈥� said Antonio.

鈥淏eing part of a union will essentially put in place rules and processes for how a growing company handles such difficult times, to ensure fairness and respect for all in the workplace.鈥�

The union filed their application to the Canada Industrial Relations Board last month, and the board certified Unifor as the bargaining agent for the workers on Thursday.

Unifor is one of Canada鈥檚 largest private sector union and represents more than 300,000 workers across the country. It represents more than 16,000 workers across the aviation industry.

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