WestJet mechanics make only $109,000 on average. Oh, the humanity

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Ashley Nunes is a senior research associate at Harvard Law School and teaches economic policy at Harvard College.

Inspecting, maintaining and repairing aircraft is admittedly no walk in the park. The work can be grueling, requires focus and must be performed regardless of whether mother nature co-operates. I wouldn’t be particularly keen on inspecting jet engines in the bone-chilling blistering Canadian winter or performing safety checks in the scorching summer heat. If WestJet safety technicians say they need a pay hike, my default response is to agree.

But I do wonder why these engineers (who earn an average of $109,000, according to WestJet) believe they should earn far more than most Canadians. Nearly 700 of these workers walked off the job Friday, demanding perks beyond the offered 23-per-cent wage increase over the five-and-a half-year term of their collective agreement.

WestJet said on Sunday it reached a deal with the workers to end the strike, but that more than 800 flights had already been cancelled and there would still be flight disruptions in the week ahead as planes are brought back on line.

Is there some obscure aircraft maintenance tool the engineers must pay for out of pocket? An pneumatic palm drill that gives them the upper hand when battling the foes of aluminum and steel?

I’m a firm believer in the idea that when it comes to setting wages, companies have little power. It’s the market that decides how much (or how little) a worker gets paid. If a company pays a worker less than what that worker is willing to (and should) accept, that worker will go elsewhere. Do that a few times and a company will quickly learn it needs to sweeten the pot to recruit and retain the best workers.

Put simply, if WestJet technicians think their labour is worth more (and I’m not entirely convinced that it is), and WestJet is unwilling to pay them more, these workers should quit. It happens all the time. Professionals, young and old, dissatisfied with their wages choose to find another job. In fact, dissatisfaction over wages is the No. 1 reason workers give for searching for another job.

Why should WestJet technicians be treated any differently? The answer is they shouldn’t. What they should do is what the rest of us do when we are unhappy at our jobs – pad their résumés, hit the interview circuit and keep working until they find something better. Or if working conditions are that dire, just quit altogether.

Instead, these “professionals” have chosen to quit working under the guise of being treated unfairly, while simultaneously asking for “job security” for a job they refuse to perform. And these workers are not being held accountable for disrupting the travel plans of tens of thousands of Canadians. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who booked their trips months in advance are being held hostage by a select few.

That a deal was reached was inevitable given Ottawa’s involvement in the dispute and the essential role air travel plays in driving the Canadian economy. But in the long run, I think we need more tough love when shenanigans like this arise. And when it comes to tough love, no one did it better than former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

In 1981, American air traffic controllers threatened to strike because their demands – a hefty pay hike and a better pension – weren’t being met (sound familiar?). The U.S. government, which is responsible for air traffic control, made some concessions but in the eyes of the controllers, not enough. A strike subsequently ensued, which disrupted air travel nationwide. Mr. Reagan repeatedly warned picketing controllers to return to work, albeit no avail. Finally, he invoked the nuclear option. He fired the controllers who went on strike; all 11,345 of them.

I’m not saying Mr. Reagan’s move should be repeated here. Doing that in Canada isn’t just more difficult: It’s impossible. Workers cannot be terminated (or even penalized) for striking. Nor should they. And the strike has already ended.

But the fact that the union has gone on strike once means that it can do so again. In the ensuing talks, WestJet should not let the union hold the spectre of strikes over its head and let itself be bullied into further concessions.

Where pay and benefits are concerned, a company is under no obligation to acquiesce to a worker’s demands regardless of how reasonable (or unreasonable) those demands may be. The market does that. If WestJet stands its ground, it’s only a matter of time before the 700 workers at WestJet realize this.

Until they do, Canadians nationwide will continue to suffer.