Flight Attendant strike vote opens on July 28th

[rooster]

AC FAs already have duty day -4hrs which helps reduce unpaid time at work in the event of delays and 50% premium for DOT which is 50% pay override on the whole day if going over 13 hrs. Perhaps they could get duty day -3.5 as an improvement?

There is no way AC agrees to current rates + 40% raises + check in to check out paid hourly and they know an arbitrator wouldn't impose such a sweeping change either.

Then you have cost increases at AC and their stock getting hammered in their Q2 financials, they need to show that they can hold on cost discipline. Plus the Canadian economy in general is caving in.

FAs still have to deal with the LCC in their contact and the poor terms there too...

I predict something around 8/4/3/2, starting rate bumps up to step 2 on FA scale, plus rouge FAs go to mainline, plus some expense improvement, plus a 5K signing bonus. And that might be generous... it would pass with 75% support.

I worked with a crew last week that thought a strike would be a bit of a paid vacation... They were surprised when I told them they don't get paid if they go on strike. That changed their view of things pretty quick. Lots of FAs are still working overtime and not tuned in on what's going on. There isn't much solidarity from what I'm seeing.

Wish them the best though...

What is DOT?

What does it stand for?

[crystalpizza]

What is DOT?

What does it stand for?

Duty Overtime

[flying4dollars]

Lately about 98% of the FA's I've talked to have zero idea of what's happening between the union and company in terms of progress or communication. The SD's seem to be more in touch and I truly wish them the best of luck but otherwise I have very little faith in the FA group in terms of unity and resolve just based on everyone's answer of "I don't know" when I ask how the negots are going.

[Dry Guy]

I was also surprised to be asked by an FA what date they would be in a strike position. That doesn't mean they aren't resolved though.

If labour costs are becoming an issue for the company they need to start prioritizing which employee groups are actually moving metal and which groups you could operate without. Think back to your 703 days to remember how little office desk staff an airline really needs.

The FAs are firmly in the moving metal category by regulation.

[TalkingPie]

Lately about 98% of the FA's I've talked to have zero idea of what's happening between the union and company in terms of progress or communication. The SD's seem to be more in touch and I truly wish them the best of luck but otherwise I have very little faith in the FA group in terms of unity and resolve just based on everyone's answer of "I don't know" when I ask how the negots are going.

I suspect you're right that there's less unity than we'd like, but to be fair, even the most engaged cabin crew don't know much about what's going on in the negotiations, because the union hasn't shared that info. At first they said that negots were going productively and respectfully, until fairly suddenly they weren't. Then we were told about conciliation and now the strike vote for earliest possible strike notice on August 16th. Nobody knows more because the union hasn't been sharing it. No official word on what the company has offered other than that it isn't acceptable. Some rumours floating around about really low offers, but for all we know those are coming from management to lower expectations of what's possible.

I think management's playbook is similar to what they did with the pilots last year: started off friendly until the negotiations got to the important talks on pay, benefits, and working conditions; then stonewalled. I bet they'll drop what they consider to be a barely-acceptable proposal shortly before a strike gets called. Maybe they'll try to string the union along to avoid a strike until after peak summer flying is over.

There's lots of talk among cabin crew about how important a strong strike vote will be. I honestly don't know how that'll turn out, but I guess it won't be as solid as the pilots' impressive showing was. Some juniors are realizing that $450/week untaxed strike pay is comparable to what they make while working, but others are worried about losing even just a few days' income. Still others are apparently for some reason afraid that the company will know who voted to strike and will punish them. We should have the vote result in a day or two, I guess.

[thepoors]

Yeah CUPE's communication apparently sucks because none of them know what's going on and how it's going to impact them. They are muddling through these negots without an informed membership and I don't see how that can produce any kind of positive outcome. AC clearly knows how to play this game and it seems like the FA contract is barely on their radar. After the pilot contract, which was a resounding win for management even after getting tons of media attention and publicity, this will probably be a walk in the park.

I would love to be proven wrong. These people work way too hard and are treated way too crapily for how they're being paid.

[TalkingPie]

The strike vote results are in.

Percentage of YES votes: 99.7%

Participation rate: 94.6%

[Daniel Cooper]

The strike vote results are in.

Percentage of YES votes: 99.7%

Participation rate: 94.6%

Thank you. That shows great resolve.

[Man_in_the_sky]

The strike vote results are in.

Percentage of YES votes: 99.7%

Participation rate: 94.6%

Thank you. That shows great resolve.

Not as strong as the pilot group, but still a very strong message.

[flyingcanuck]

The strike vote results are in.

Percentage of YES votes: 99.7%

Participation rate: 94.6%

Thank you. That shows great resolve.

Not as strong as the pilot group, but still a very strong message.

what? its a higher YES than what we did

[daedalusx]

The absolute state of ALPA cucks … “they only voted 99.7% in favour”

Now we’ll see if they also fold before going all the way to the finish line. Maybe flight attendants are better negotiators than pilots, just like WJ AMEs showed the koolaid drinkers at the teal team how it’s done.
Are they also going to bring out 16 flavours of coloured lanyards and the fancy videos with dramatic music ? Cause that’s how you get the world’s standard where you get paid 50% for DH and train on your days off.

[Dry Guy]

32% plus ground duty pay is a pretty good offer. Does anyone know the details of the ground pay?

[TalkingPie]

32% plus ground duty pay is a pretty good offer. Does anyone know the details of the ground pay?

That's a hard one to answer, seeing as how it's an offer that's only been seen in the media so far. According to CUPE, Air Canada hasn't made this offer to the union yet. It looks like management might be gearing up for a misinformation campaign.

[Dry Guy]

Thanks. I see a lot of comments about how the pilots just went on strike too

[Man_in_the_sky]

Thank you. That shows great resolve.

Not as strong as the pilot group, but still a very strong message.

what? its a higher YES than what we did

god...

98% of 98% is higher than 99.7% of 94%

[CaptDukeNukem]

Not as strong as the pilot group, but still a very strong message.

what? its a higher YES than what we did

god...

98% of 98% is higher than 99.7% of 94%

[flyingcanuck]

Not as strong as the pilot group, but still a very strong message.

what? its a higher YES than what we did

god...

98% of 98% is higher than 99.7% of 94%

LOL got me there

[Man_in_the_sky]

It’s only Numbers!

If Trump taught us one thing, it’s that numbers can be read in many ways

[TalkingPie]

Yesterday's "Day of Action" was considered by the union to be a great success.

The latest update from the union says that the company has stopped negotiating and requested to proceed to interest arbitration. The union has rejected this.

Strike notice can be given as of midnight tonight, with the earliest possible strike starting at midnight on the 16th.

Bargaining Committee Update.pdf

(422.7 KiB) Downloaded 70 times

[cdnavater]

Yesterday's "Day of Action" was considered by the union to be a great success.

The latest update from the union says that the company has stopped negotiating and requested to proceed to interest arbitration. The union has rejected this.

Strike notice can be given as of midnight tonight, with the earliest possible strike starting at midnight on the 16th.

Bargaining Committee Update.pdf

Everything I’ve seen so far has the public on their side, crazy how you tell people you’re not paid for all your work and they get up in arms!
This has been the industry norm for decades and decades, you trade a higher hourly for some unpaid duties, smart bargaining!

[Man_in_the_sky]

Yesterday's "Day of Action" was considered by the union to be a great success.

The latest update from the union says that the company has stopped negotiating and requested to proceed to interest arbitration. The union has rejected this.

Strike notice can be given as of midnight tonight, with the earliest possible strike starting at midnight on the 16th.

Bargaining Committee Update.pdf

Everything I’ve seen so far has the public on their side, crazy how you tell people you’re not paid for all your work and they get up in arms!
This has been the industry norm for decades and decades, you trade a higher hourly for some unpaid duties, smart bargaining!

Let’s see how it turns out. Grooming the plane during the turn like at westjet maybe?

[Dry Guy]

Unfortunately I predict government intervention. That will set more precedent that our Charter Right to strike doesn't exist anymore. I really hope that's not what happens because it will mean a massive loss of future leverage for us.

[cdnavater]

Yesterday's "Day of Action" was considered by the union to be a great success.

The latest update from the union says that the company has stopped negotiating and requested to proceed to interest arbitration. The union has rejected this.

Strike notice can be given as of midnight tonight, with the earliest possible strike starting at midnight on the 16th.

Bargaining Committee Update.pdf

Everything I’ve seen so far has the public on their side, crazy how you tell people you’re not paid for all your work and they get up in arms!
This has been the industry norm for decades and decades, you trade a higher hourly for some unpaid duties, smart bargaining!

Let’s see how it turns out. Grooming the plane during the turn like at westjet maybe?

Guaranteed, if they are paying them, they WILL be doing something!
I’d love to be paid for all of my time but I have no delusions it would be at the same rate, maybe the pairings would get more efficient.

[Dias]

I really hope they get ground pay and that we go for the same. The predeparture ground delays are getting worse by the month.

[goingnowherefast]

Yesterday's "Day of Action" was considered by the union to be a great success.

The latest update from the union says that the company has stopped negotiating and requested to proceed to interest arbitration. The union has rejected this.

Strike notice can be given as of midnight tonight, with the earliest possible strike starting at midnight on the 16th.

Bargaining Committee Update.pdf

Everything I’ve seen so far has the public on their side, crazy how you tell people you’re not paid for all your work and they get up in arms!
This has been the industry norm for decades and decades, you trade a higher hourly for some unpaid duties, smart bargaining!

They're asking for a higher rate AND ground pay. I support the AC FAs!