Wj Fas Reject Ta By 57%

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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/WestJet+flight+attendants+reject+tentative+agreement/10409666/story.html#__federated=1

WestJet flight attendants have voted down a new tentative agreement aimed at quelling ongoing unionization efforts at the Calgary-based airline.

Fifty-seven per cent of flight attendants who voted rejected the agreement, which had been the result of six months of negotiationbetween management and WestJet’s non-unionized flight attendant association. Turnout for the vote was an extremely strong 90 per cent.

“We are obviously disappointed with the results of the vote,” said Tyson Matheson, WestJet Vice-President, Inflight, in a release. “We believe we brought forward an agreement that balanced the needs of our flight attendants with those of the business.”

Matheson said he has no doubt that management and staff will be able to come together to resolve the issues that led to these results. He also thanked flight attendants for lending their voice to the process and for the daily work they do.

He said WestJet’s leadership team and the Flight Attendant Association Board will regroup in the coming weeks in an effort to understand employees’ specific concerns.

While WestJet has long prided itself on its positive workplace culture, it’s clear some employees are disgruntled with some of the changes that have taken place over the last two years — a period of rapid growth and expansion at the airline.

One particularly contentious move was the establishment of new crew bases in Toronto and Vancouver, a departure from the old model where all pilots and flight attendants started their shifts in Calgary. The airline also moved to a new ratio of one flight attendant for every 50 passengers, a change from the old ratio of one to 40.

In recent months, both the Canadian Union of Public Employees and an in-house group calling itself the WestJet Professional Flight Attendants Association (WPFFA) have been trying to convince the airline’s flight attendants to sign membership cards.

WestJet acknowledged in October that the new agreement — pitched as a first-of-its kind document with more teeth than any previous memorandum of agreement — was an attempt to address any employee concerns that might be fuelling ongoing unionization drives at WestJet.

The tentative agreement covered not just compensation, but also formally establishing a series of work rules and an enforceable dispute resolution process.

More to come.

astephenson@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/AmandaMsteph