FORT MCMURRAY – Wood Buffalo Housing (WBH) served its 49 employees lock out notice today, meaning that as of Friday at 4:30 pm, employees will be forced to hit the picket lines.

CUPE Local 1505 President Judy Collier said her members do not want to stop serving residents and the community, but the WBH is forcing their hands.

“Wood Buffalo Housing wants to lay off groundskeepers, maintenance staff, and housekeepers and replace them with minimum wage contractors without benefits,” said Collier. “Not only will that not save money, it will result in poorly maintained properties. And nobody is better off with that.”

“This is not about wages. This is about our members wanting to do what they were hired to do – take care of residents and their homes.”

Collier said CUPE knows from past experience that contracting out doesn’t actually save any money, as most of the lost wages are still paid to the contractor.

“It’s better to just pay staff a living wage and get better service for it.”

Collier says her members are ready to stand up for residents, even if it means getting locked out by their employer.

“If WBH wants to save money, they can and should work with their employees to find efficiencies,” said Collier. “That’s how you build a strong company, and how you serve your residents best.”

“Someone has to stand up for our community here, because WBH sure isn’t.”

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Contact:
Lou Arab, Communications Representative
780.271.2722

CUPE has filed an application at the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to represent flight attendants at WestJet Encore.

A majority of WestJet Encore flight attendants have signed cards supporting unionization with CUPE, after citing the need for better schedules and better opportunities for career advancement among their reasons for seeking to unionize. CUPE is thrilled to get to work improving the lives of Encore staff.

“CUPE has industry-leading experience and expertise in improving the working conditions and the lives of our flight attendant members,” said CUPE National President Mark Hancock. “We look forward to adding Encore flight attendants to our airline family.”

Flight attendants have a tough job ensuring the safety of their passengers at 20,000 feet, along with challenging working conditions and often unpredictable schedules. But being part of a union makes a world of difference, as flight attendants at WestJet mainline can already attest. “Most definitely, my life is a lot better after joining CUPE,” said Kruti Sutaria,  who is now the Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE Local 4070, representing WestJet mainline flight attendants.

In July 2018, CUPE was certified to represent roughly 3,000 flight attendants at WestJet’s mainline carrier. CUPE is Canada’s flight attendant union, representing 15,000 flight attendants at ten different airlines nationwide.

CUPE’S National Health and Safety Committee first proposed the creation of a national Day of Mourning in 1984.

That idea came to fruition in 1991 when the federal government passed legislation to establish April 28^th as the Day of Mourning. It has grown internationally as the World Day for Safety and Health at Work and is recognized in more than 120 countries around the world.

When they envisioned the day, the members of the committee wanted to remember lives lost in the workplace. But there was a broader point. The day was also supposed to remind all workers that we need to fight for the living and inspire us to prevent further tragedies.

On each Day of Mourning, CUPE honours the members who died on the job.