CALGARY, AB — Canada's second largest airline, WestJet , said it canceled at least 235 flights affecting 33,000 passengers Saturday after the maintenance workers union announced it went on strike. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association said its members started to strike Friday evening because the airline’s “unwillingness to negotiate with the union” made it inevitable. The strike came after the federal government issued a ministerial order for binding arbitration on Thursday.
That followed two weeks of turbulent discussions with the union on a new deal. WestJet executives told a news conference in Calgary that another 150 flights could be canceled by the end of the day if there was no resolution to the walkout. The airline’s CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, put the blame for the situation squarely on what he said was a “rogue union from the U.
S.” that was trying to make inroads in Canada. As a result of the current strike action by the union representing our Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, guests travelling are advised to check the status of their flight prior to heading to the airport.
https://t.co/mKTNT8YFlM pic.twitter.
com/BE7DeKwXSY — WestJet (@WestJet) June 29, 2024 Von Hoensbroech said as far as the airline was concerned bargaining with the union had come to an end once the government directed the dispute to binding arbitration. “This makes a strike totally absurd because the reason you actually do a strike is because you need to exercise pressure on.
