CAW set to explore union drive at airline
The Canadian Auto Workers union is trying to form a committee for a possible organizing drive at WestJet Airlines.
The CAW confirmed yesterday it has received calls from WestJet employees expressing interest in the union, and it is now working on a committee.
"We’re at a very preliminary stage," said union president Ken Lewenza, who took the reins of the CAW on Sept. 4. Lewenza, who ran Local 444 in Windsor for 14 years, succeeded Buzz Hargrove, who was CAW president for 16 years.
Calgary-based WestJet employs about 5,700 and promotes the idea of workers becoming owners of the company no qualifying payday advance.
The CAW wants to become more aggressive in organizing outside the manufacturing sector, where it has lost thousands of members in recent years because of plant closings. The union already represents some 5,000 Air Canada workers.