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WestJet Flight Attendants Vote Could Authorize Strike Starting Aug. 2

A successful vote would give about 4,400 cabin crew the legal right to walk off and could disrupt travel over the August long weekend.

Just under a year after Air Canada flight attendants went on strike over the issue of unpaid work, unionized flight attendants at WestJet and WestJet Encore are threatening to do the same.
WestJet head office in Calgary on Saturday,where an information picket will be held by flight attendants who have been without a contract since the end of 2025.
Flight attendants are shown at a union rally outside WestJet's Calgary headquarters on Tuesday. The collective agreement covering the main WestJet flight attendants expired at the end of 2025.

Overview

  • The union-held strike vote that began on July 8 concluded July 15 with results expected that day and would only authorize, not immediately trigger, job action.
  • If members vote yes either side must give 72 hours' notice before any strike or lockout and the earliest legally possible date for walkout is Sunday, Aug. 2.
  • The central dispute is WestJet’s flight-credit pay model, which CUPE Local 8125 says causes roughly 35 unpaid hours per attendant each month for on‑ground duties.
  • WestJet says attendants are paid for every hour worked, published a self-audit of 40 staff over nine months that found four potential underpayments, and says it is open to sustainable changes to the pay system.
  • Bargaining has run about ten months, federal conciliation ended July 11, the sides have agreed on 32 contract items with about 35 still unresolved, and the situation echoes last summer’s Air Canada attendant strike and WestJet’s 2024 mechanics dispute.