By Aaron Hammond 
So, if you or anyone you know is planning a trip across Canada right now, you might want to double-check those flight details. Thousands of passengers are currently stranded because WestJet flight attendants have officially gone on strike as of Sunday, August 2nd.
The strike hits right in the middle of a major, three-day holiday weekend in Canada. WestJet, the country’s second-largest airline, has already had to cancel around 600 flights since Friday, basically halting all of its Boeing 737 and 787 operations to avoid leaving passengers and planes scattered everywhere.
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The whole thing comes down to how the cabin crew gets paid. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the 4,400 flight attendants, argues that their members should be paid from the exact moment they report for duty until they clock out. Right now, like a lot of North American airlines, they are mainly paid for “block time”—meaning the actual time the aircraft door is closed before departure until it arrives at the gate. So, duties during boarding and safety checks? The union says that’s basically unpaid labor.
WestJet’s CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, says they actually offered a deal that would make them the only airline in Canada to pay an hourly rate covering all time before and after flights, plus a big double-digit wage increase. But, union president Alia Hussain fired back, stating that WestJet’s offer simply “did not go far enough” to recognize the value of the crew’s hard work.
Both sides say they are still willing to negotiate, but for now, WestJet has stated that affected travelers will be refunded or put on alternative flights. If you’re flying WestJet Encore (those are the Q400 planes), you are in luck, as those flights are still operating. It’s a tough situation for everyone, especially those poor folks sleeping on airport floors, but let’s hope they can reach a fair deal soon.