CAW Strike at Viking Air: Media Coverage Analysis

Introduction and News Story Overview

The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union announced a 72-hour strike notice while bargaining with Viking Air management. As per the notice, the union was set to go on strike at 12 noon on Thursday, January 19 (CAW, 2012).

The union's national spokesperson, Gavin McGarrigle, stated that it had been over a year since skilled workers had been waiting for renewal of job contracts, benefits, and other workplace issues. Viking Air had been reluctant to follow the pattern set by Cascade Aerospace, which had signed a contract with the union the previous year at Abbotsford (CAW, 2012).

The vote conducted on October 28, 2011 showed that over 94% of Viking Air workers were in favor of a strike. According to McGarrigle, at the start of the year they would work hard to reach a final deal with Viking Air, since an actual strike would halt all production processes, further delaying already-late orders and deliveries — particularly those for the Twin Otter aircraft (CAW, 2012).

The previous collective agreement had expired on October 31, 2010, leaving the parties no choice but to negotiate a new deal during talks in Sidney, British Columbia (CAW, 2012).

Viking Air is a jet manufacturing and refurbishment firm based on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, near Sidney. The company decided to resume manufacturing the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, which made it the sole manufacturer of that aircraft in western Canada. To manage project vulnerabilities, the company also established a satellite facility in Calgary, Alberta (CAW, 2012).

The Canadian Auto Workers Local 114 represented over 270 skilled workers at Viking Air, including members from painting, welding, storekeeping, and general mechanics fields (CAW, 2012).

This paper analyzes how the strike notice was covered in both mainstream and alternative media. The comparisons and analysis are based on how the perception of the story affected its coverage, with attention to the dominance/resistance model, the propaganda model, and Martin's frames.

Mainstream Media Coverage

Times Colonist was one of the first news agencies to report on the strike and provided more detail than the other outlets examined here.

The primary concern of the workers was job security, driven by rumors that Viking Air planned to relocate its manufacturing facility overseas. In July 2010, the company signed a memorandum of understanding to construct a Twin Otter manufacturing and refurbishment facility in Russia (Wilson, 2012).

Viking Air president Dave Curtis claimed that the company offered a generous compensation package. Workers had previously earned $20 per hour with bonuses, which later rose to $25 per hour. However, the specifics of the company's latest proposal remained confidential (Wilson, 2012).

The union had been focused on the prospect of work being contracted out, while the company maintained its focus on growth in Victoria, where the union's membership had more than doubled in recent years. Curtis argued that his past investments should demonstrate the kinds of decisions he had made and would continue to make (Wilson, 2012).

Discussing new construction in the area and the hiring of new staff, Curtis stated that he needed an environment of adaptability and flexibility — one that would give the company maximum freedom to meet its goals. He added that they had no current intention of moving operations elsewhere (Wilson, 2012).

He also indicated that the company would not pressure anyone to return, but would focus on meeting upcoming objectives in a timely manner (Wilson, 2012). The two sides had previously met to discuss the matter, with talks resuming in November and continuing for approximately a week. Curtis noted that neither side had proactively sought the other out (Wilson, 2012).

According to CAW spokesperson Gavin McGarrigle, the union was seeking a three-year agreement and would not accept a limited one. With increasing production prospects in Russia and India, job security was the central and most difficult issue to resolve (Wilson, 2012).

From the union's perspective, the strike's core objective was ensuring that Viking's Victoria operation remained a national symbol. The spokesperson clarified that the union did not oppose Viking's expansion plans — in fact, they viewed it as a positive development for the company. However, since Victoria had long served as the global headquarters, the union wanted it to remain so (Wilson, 2012).

Existing contract provisions addressed some operational concerns: if the company relocated, workers covered by the collective agreement would remain employed, while those unable to relocate would face job loss. The union, per McGarrigle, wanted to ensure that in any future downsizing, Victoria would be the last location affected (Wilson, 2012).

This coverage demonstrates a strong challenge to Martin's frames, which suggest that media coverage of labor actions tends to shift away from workers' needs and toward statistical reporting. By contrast, the Times Colonist story stayed on point, highlighting the workers' main concerns and only referencing Viking Air's responses insofar as they were relevant to those concerns.

Oak Bay News also covered the strike, though its story was considerably shorter and highlighted fewer details than the Times Colonist piece.

The outlet reported that Viking Air faced a strike deadline on Thursday, with a large number of employees in the jet production and refurbishment unit belonging to the Canadian Auto Workers Union, which had issued the 72-hour notice on Monday (Reeuwyk, 2012).

CAW spokesperson Gavin McGarrigle was quoted as saying that workers had been waiting over a year for contract renewal, covering benefits and other workplace issues, and that Viking Air had been unwilling to follow the Cascade Aerospace model. The 94% strike vote was noted, as was the expired agreement and the composition of the Local 114 bargaining unit (Reeuwyk, 2012). McGarrigle was quoted directly: "We're going to work hard in bargaining this week to reach a fair deal as a strike at Viking Air will completely disrupt production and further delay deliveries of many new Twin Otter aircraft that are already behind schedule."

This story is concise and factual, again defying Martin's frames by focusing on the core reasons behind the strike. However, the propaganda model does surface here: the story's structure presents a conflicting dynamic between the workers and the company, and frames Viking Air's willingness to negotiate primarily as a response to the risk of production delays rather than as genuine responsiveness to worker concerns. This is where Martin's frames partially emerge — the reader's attention is momentarily redirected from worker needs to the company's client and stakeholder obligations. Although both stories covered the same facts, the Oak Bay News piece was structured to emphasize conflict rather than the potential for negotiation, giving rise to elements of the propaganda model.

Bloomberg Businessweek published two short articles on the dispute, prefaced by a brief company profile.

Company Profile: Viking Air Limited operates as a principal producer and refurbishment service provider for aircraft and aircraft parts. The company offers a range of services including service support, certification and protection services, repair and refurbishment, parts installation, and AOG services. It also provides OEM support for de Havilland aircraft globally. Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Sidney, Canada (Bloomberg, 2012).

Short Story #1 — Canadian Auto Workers Union Serves 72-Hour Strike Notice at Viking Air Limited: The CAW issued a 72-hour strike notice while bargaining with Viking Air, with the strike set to begin at 12:00 noon on January 19. Over 94% of Viking Air workers voted in favor of the strike. The previous work agreement had expired on October 31, 2010, and the parties were scheduled to meet at the bargaining table in Sidney for the remainder of the week (Bloomberg, 2012).

Short Story #2 — 94% of Viking Air Limited Workers Vote in Favor of Strike Action: CAW members voted 94% in favor of strike action, signaling willingness to walk out if necessary to secure a new job agreement. Wages, job security, and cost of living were among the most contentious issues, and also contributed to delays in more than 50 orders for new Twin Otter aircraft. Workers had been seeking a new collective agreement since the previous one expired on October 31, 2010. The union has represented Viking Air workers since 1995 under a special certification (Bloomberg, 2011).

Bloomberg Businessweek's approach presents a balanced, fact-based account of the strike by first contextualizing the company and then focusing both short stories on the strike's causes and background. It was also the only source to reference future activities underway to resolve the dispute. As a result, it successfully avoids both the propaganda model and Martin's frames. Moreover, this coverage exemplifies the dominance/resistance model, which holds that media tends to amplify dissenting voices when a story involves a significant social or labor issue.