Local 531 was established in May 2021 when WestJet bases, in Calgary, and Vancouver, received their certification from the CIRB for Unifor to be the sole bargaining representative for our workplaces. Local 531 was established with 531 members: hence our name, Local 531. We recently held our first Executive Board elections in September and elected a President, Secretary-Treasurer, 2 Unit Chairs, Communications Director, and Trustees.
We entered into collective bargaining with WestJet in October 2021 and after 9 months, we ratified the agreement on July 29th, 2022. Ratification was the end of a very difficult bargaining period with the employer. We filed for conciliation with the Federal Government to have an impartial third party to assist us in reaching mutually agreeable solutions to outstanding issues. Local 531 called a strike vote in Vancouver on July 15th and 16th and in Calgary on July 18th and 19th and the result was 98% in favour of striking. Due to a strong strike vote, we were able to come to an agreement with the employer.
After many months of organizing in Toronto to join Unifor, we applied to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board on July 11th, 2022, and were certified on July 29th, 2022. This was a major victory for our coworkers out east, as the Company had just announced that they would be focusing more on flying out of Calgary and the west. The Toronto Bargaining Committee and WestJet entered into Collective Bargaining in November 2022.
During the pandemic, the Company laid off all Customer Service workers across the country, except for those in 4 bases; Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Edmonton. We continue to speak to workers in Edmonton about the Union advantage and look forward to the day when they join us.
Currently, Local 531 represents almost 1000 workers from Vancouver and Calgary WestJet bases. With the addition of the workers in Toronto, this brings our member total close to 1500.