The Airline Pilots Association International (ALPA), the union representing WestJet Pilots issued a 72 hour strike notice to the airline at 10:00pm on Monday evening. The notice allows the union to begin job action as soon as early Friday morning.
As Open Jaw reported earlier on Monday, 1,850 WestJet and Swoop pilots who are Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) union members have been negotiating a new contract since fall of 2022. ALPA and its pilot members reportedly continue to push for a “North American / industry-standard contract,” which would narrow the gap between wages at WestJet and other airlines in North America, particularly those in the U.S.
“After nine months of negotiating, management still fails to understand today’s labour market conditions,” says Capt. Bernard Lewall, chair of the WestJet ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC).
“Without the economic and job security improvements our pilots require, WestJet will be parking planes, as they will not have enough pilots to operate them or accomplish its own growth strategy.”
