Flight Attendant strike vote opens on July 28th

[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!

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

Yes, certainly come in handy next negotiations

[goingnowherefast]

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!

Yes, certainly come in handy next negotiations

A rising tide floats all boats. It helps if you're in the same harbour, but applies nonetheless.

[gqra]

Bargaining in public and collective punishment, nice combo.

[TalkingPie]

The latest from CUPE: https://cupe.ca/air-canada-no-longer-wa ... LjYPkGONmg

It sounds like what management is putting in its press releases is very different than what's been discussed with the union. I've bolded what I found to be particularly pertinent.

Statement from Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, on Air Canada’s proposal to end contract negotiations:

After nine months of the company delaying at the bargaining table on the fundamental issues - unpaid work and poverty wages - the union asked for and received an unprecedented 99.7% strike mandate from its membership. Flight attendants turned out by the hundreds at airports across the country for a powerful showing of solidarity for their August 11 Day of Action.

Air Canada has seen how determined and united flight attendants are to end unpaid work and win a real cost-of-living increase to wages.

Now, Air Canada has decided they no longer want to negotiate. They want to go to arbitration, rather than stay at the bargaining table and bargain a new contract.

Everyone knows the best deals are negotiated at the bargaining table, not handed down by an outside third-party. Then why does Air Canada want the union to agree to arbitration?

First, arbitrators rely on precedent and the status quo to make their determinations. But Air Canada flight attendants are trying to break the status quo by ending the historic abuse of unpaid work in this industry. Air Canada wants an arbitrator to do their dirty work for them to keep the status quo intact.

Second, an arbitrator’s determination would be final. Members would not get a chance to vote on it. Air Canada wants to go to arbitration because they want to take away our members’ democratic voice.

The union has declined the company’s proposal to preserve the exploitative status quo and take away our members’ voice.

The Air Canada Component of CUPE remains at the bargaining table, ready to negotiate.

We have always been available to negotiate. The union was available to continue discussions while it sought a strike mandate - the company never reached out.

With respect to Air Canada’s latest offer: it is below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage - and still leaves flight attendants unpaid for all hours of work.

Currently, Air Canada flight attendants perform hours of critical safety-related duties for free. The company has offered to begin compensating flight attendants for some of these duties - but only at 50% of their hourly rate, and the company is still refusing to compensate flight attendants for time spent responding to medical emergencies, fires, evacuations, and other safety and security-related issues on the ground.

Meanwhile, on wages, Air Canada’s offer is below market value, below inflation, and below minimum wage.

Air Canada has offered 8% in the first year as a one-time catch-up. Meanwhile, flight attendants have taken a 9% cut to their real wages due to inflation over the course of their last contract since 2015. This offer does not even keep up with inflation - it is, in effect, a pay cut. Air Canada’s offer is below inflation.
Air Canada is using misleading “kitchen-sink” figures to make the public believe that flight attendants who rely on food banks and second and third jobs are the ones being greedy. In reality, the company has offered a 17.2% wage increase over four years. Even in year four of Air Canada’s offer, in 2028, Air Canada flight attendants would earn less than competitor airlines in Canada earn today. Air Canada’s offer is below market value.
Even with the “best offer” that Air Canada can make, an entry-level Air Canada flight attendant working full-time will still earn less than federal minimum wage. Junior Air Canada flight attendants working full-time (75 credit hours per month) currently earn $1,952 per month pre-taxes. With Air Canada’s first-year catch-up increase of 8%, their earnings would increase to $2,108.16 per month. Meanwhile, a worker earning federal minimum wage at $17.75 per hour would earn $2,840.00 per month pre-taxes. Air Canada’s offer is below minimum wage.

Air Canada has posted billions in profits in recent years. They can afford to pay flight attendants fairly without raising costs for the public.

Air Canada flight attendants have been voted Best Cabin Crew in North America for years running. Their wages should reflect their professionalism and dedication to safety and service.

[Dias]

You have our full support, Flight Attendants! You are entitled to a living wage, and then some. You are entitled to be paid for all of your time at work. I can't believe this is even up for discussion.

[Jean-Pierre]

screenshot_2025_08_13_004043_49eb6a381bdbc60672f8098fb1c4176ac7502682.png (274.5 KiB) Viewed 1623 times

Journalism quality is so low

[JustaCanadian]

Did the news source webpage make you watch a thirty second advertisement before the news article written could be read?

Or was the article just poorly written and the journalbot gave you a freebie this day? Any wonder why people avoid the media and tune into podcasts instead?

[Jean-Pierre]

The headline and article say the opposite thing

[TalkingPie]

Last night's misleading headline aside, in the meantime the union did give strike notice shortly after midnight. The company in turn served lockout notice.

Bargaining Committee Update - 28 - STRIKE NOTICE SERVED

Dear Members,

Since December 2024, your Bargaining Committee has been at the table with Air Canada, fighting to secure a fair and respectful collective agreement. We have shown up prepared, bargained in good faith, and made progress on some items. Despite our best efforts, Air Canada refused to address our core issues.

When we asked you for a strike mandate, your answer was deafening: 99.7% in favour. That vote sent a crystal clear message flight attendants are united, determined, and ready to stand up for what we deserve.

After reaching an impasse, federal conciliators were brought in. We continued to bargain, putting forward solid, data driven proposals on wages, expenses, and unpaid work, all rooted in fairness and industry standards. Air Canada’s latest response made one thing clear: they are not interested in resolving these issues.

Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees workers the right to bargain collectively and when necessary, to strike. These rights are the foundation of a fair and just society.

When we stood strong together, Air Canada didn’t come to the table in good faith. Instead, they called on the federal government to step in and take those rights away. This is exactly why our solidarity matters. We believe our government must uphold the principles it is sworn to protect, not undermine them. We call on the Liberal government to respect our right to take job action in pursuit of a fair contract.

At 00:58h EST today, we officially served notice to strike. This decision was not made lightly, but it is necessary. We are ready, We are strong and we will not back down!

Now, we need every member to take action: Contact your Member of Parliament today. Tell them to respect our right to strike and to support our fight for fair compensation for all the work we do.

Please click [Here] to see the official 72-hour notice that has been sent to the employer. Subsequently, at 01:30h EST the Company issued lock out notice to the Union, please click [Here] to review the letter.

We will issue a further update this evening.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee

[thepoors]

Let's hope the ALPA Cuck Team™ is learning some lessons about what's left on the table and what the company is willing to offer.

[cdnavater]

You have our full support, Flight Attendants! You are entitled to a living wage, and then some. You are entitled to be paid for all of your time at work. I can't believe this is even up for discussion.

The reason it is up for discussion is because the hourly rate has been negotiated based on the credit system!
I support the effort to get paid for all the time at work, I would love that to be the industry norm as opposed to the reality of getting paid about half of the time at work, more senior crew holding better pairings closer to 75% but if the system changed, I have always made the assumption the wage would go down and the monthly credit min/max would go up.
On a monthly basis, a 80 credit month you would be at work for 100-120 hours, so changing the way we are paid would affect all aspects of the job.
This is a cake and eat it too situation, paid for all your time but nothing else changes, every FA would work 8 days and be at their monthly minimum credit, company would need 2x more FAs for the short haul flying, not much would change for the long haul.
I think the company will go to the mat to prevent this, government intervention the likely end goal but I feel this will get messy, hope to be wrong though!
I do hope they get it, it’s a game changer!

[digits_]

So on the one hand they are cancelling flights, on the other hand you can still book flights on their website. Classy!

[Tbayer2021]

So on the one hand they are cancelling flights, on the other hand you can still book flights on their website. Classy!

Why shouldn't you be able to make future bookings?

[TalkingPie]

The reason it is up for discussion is because the hourly rate has been negotiated based on the credit system!
I support the effort to get paid for all the time at work, I would love that to be the industry norm as opposed to the reality of getting paid about half of the time at work, more senior crew holding better pairings closer to 75% but if the system changed, I have always made the assumption the wage would go down and the monthly credit min/max would go up.
On a monthly basis, a 80 credit month you would be at work for 100-120 hours, so changing the way we are paid would affect all aspects of the job.
This is a cake and eat it too situation, paid for all your time but nothing else changes, every FA would work 8 days and be at their monthly minimum credit, company would need 2x more FAs for the short haul flying, not much would change for the long haul.
I think the company will go to the mat to prevent this, government intervention the likely end goal but I feel this will get messy, hope to be wrong though!
I do hope they get it, it’s a game changer!

I'd say that that's a valid point. The problem is that historically the per-block-hour rate was such that the total pay at the end of the month was workable. Air Canada has whittled it down to $26.42/hr for a starting Rouge flight attendant. When your pay scheme results in an annual salary of less than $24,000 per year (based on 75 hr months) when federal minimum wage for a full-time worker is over $36,000, you can't be surprised when your employees call for a revamp of the system. What's more, I'd say that the "unpaid work" angle has resonated very well with the public, which I'd wager was a big reason for the union choosing this strategy.

We're dealing with a company that'll openly mislead the public and use every dirty trick in the book, including running to the government to try to remove Charter-protected employee rights, in order to maximize their profits. I don't like it, but I can't blame unions for playing the game they have to play in order to slow the slide backwards in pay and working conditions.

[digits_]

So on the one hand they are cancelling flights, on the other hand you can still book flights on their website. Classy!

Why shouldn't you be able to make future bookings?

There's a full stoppage being communicated after aug 15, eg on aug 16. Yet I can book flights for any departure time on those dates.

[Tbayer2021]

So on the one hand they are cancelling flights, on the other hand you can still book flights on their website. Classy!

Why shouldn't you be able to make future bookings?

There's a full stoppage being communicated after aug 15, eg on aug 16. Yet I can book flights for any departure time on those dates.

I'm aware of the stoppage, but it may not happen. A customer should be well informed of what they're purchasing. They can take the risk should they wish and receive a refund from their CC provider under "services not rendered" clause, if AC does not want to provide the refund themselves.

[digits_]

Why shouldn't you be able to make future bookings?

There's a full stoppage being communicated after aug 15, eg on aug 16. Yet I can book flights for any departure time on those dates.

I'm aware of the stoppage, but it may not happen. A customer should be well informed of what they're purchasing. They can take the risk should they wish and receive a refund from their CC provider under "services not rendered" clause, if AC does not want to provide the refund themselves.

If it may not happen, then why start winding down flights? It's one or the other IMO. Either you cancel a flight, or you accept bookings on it. Seems a bit dishonest to do both. It's very close to 'we'll take your money for a few weeks for flights we know we have no intention to perform'.

[Tbayer2021]

There's a full stoppage being communicated after aug 15, eg on aug 16. Yet I can book flights for any departure time on those dates.

I'm aware of the stoppage, but it may not happen. A customer should be well informed of what they're purchasing. They can take the risk should they wish and receive a refund from their CC provider under "services not rendered" clause, if AC does not want to provide the refund themselves.

If it may not happen, then why start winding down flights? It's one or the other IMO. Either you cancel a flight, or you accept bookings on it. Seems a bit dishonest to do both. It's very close to 'we'll take your money for a few weeks for flights we know we have no intention to perform'.

You mean just like they did when the pilots were about to strike but ultimately didn't?

[digits_]

I'm aware of the stoppage, but it may not happen. A customer should be well informed of what they're purchasing. They can take the risk should they wish and receive a refund from their CC provider under "services not rendered" clause, if AC does not want to provide the refund themselves.

If it may not happen, then why start winding down flights? It's one or the other IMO. Either you cancel a flight, or you accept bookings on it. Seems a bit dishonest to do both. It's very close to 'we'll take your money for a few weeks for flights we know we have no intention to perform'.

You mean just like they did when the pilots were about to strike but ultimately didn't?

Well yes. It wasn't classy then, it isn't classy now.

[Tbayer2021]

If it may not happen, then why start winding down flights? It's one or the other IMO. Either you cancel a flight, or you accept bookings on it. Seems a bit dishonest to do both. It's very close to 'we'll take your money for a few weeks for flights we know we have no intention to perform'.

You mean just like they did when the pilots were about to strike but ultimately didn't?

Well yes. It wasn't classy then, it isn't classy now.

Ah. Maybe we can talk about this when business practises are dictated by classiness or lack-thereof.

[digits_]

You mean just like they did when the pilots were about to strike but ultimately didn't?

Well yes. It wasn't classy then, it isn't classy now.

Ah. Maybe we can talk about this when business practises are dictated by classiness or lack-thereof.

Given the different information the company and the union are publishing, there's absolutely a battle going on to win the PR battle.
Accepting money for flights you know you're cancelling certainly weakens ones position in that battle.

So yes, classiness matters.

[Tbayer2021]

Well yes. It wasn't classy then, it isn't classy now.

Ah. Maybe we can talk about this when business practises are dictated by classiness or lack-thereof.

Given the different information the company and the union are publishing, there's absolutely a battle going on to win the PR battle.
Accepting money for flights you know you're cancelling certainly weakens ones position in that battle.

So yes, classiness matters.

Where do you propose they draw the line? Since no one knows for certain how long a potential strike will go on for. Should they stop selling tickets for a day or two? A week or two? Months?

[digits_]

Ah. Maybe we can talk about this when business practises are dictated by classiness or lack-thereof.

Given the different information the company and the union are publishing, there's absolutely a battle going on to win the PR battle.
Accepting money for flights you know you're cancelling certainly weakens ones position in that battle.

So yes, classiness matters.

Where do you propose they draw the line? Since no one knows for certain how long a potential strike will go on for. Should they stop selling tickets for a day or two? A week or two? Months?

If you communicate that you will cancel all flights on august 16th, don't sell ticket for flights departing august 16th. It's really not that hard.
Don't sell any tickets on flights you are cancelling and/or planning on cancelling.

[Tbayer2021]

Given the different information the company and the union are publishing, there's absolutely a battle going on to win the PR battle.
Accepting money for flights you know you're cancelling certainly weakens ones position in that battle.

So yes, classiness matters.

Where do you propose they draw the line? Since no one knows for certain how long a potential strike will go on for. Should they stop selling tickets for a day or two? A week or two? Months?

If you communicate that you will cancel all flights on august 16th, don't sell ticket for flights departing august 16th. It's really not that hard.
Don't sell any tickets on flights you are cancelling and/or planning on cancelling.

People aren't forced to purchase these tickets. I also think you're grasping at straws here as the airline is literally offering full refunds if their flight is canceled. There is still a chance labour action is averted so I see no problem with the airline continuing to sell tickets under these conditions.

Air Canada said customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified and they will be eligible for a full refund.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/article ... -saturday/

[cdnavater]

Given the different information the company and the union are publishing, there's absolutely a battle going on to win the PR battle.
Accepting money for flights you know you're cancelling certainly weakens ones position in that battle.

So yes, classiness matters.

Where do you propose they draw the line? Since no one knows for certain how long a potential strike will go on for. Should they stop selling tickets for a day or two? A week or two? Months?

If you communicate that you will cancel all flights on august 16th, don't sell ticket for flights departing august 16th. It's really not that hard.
Don't sell any tickets on flights you are cancelling and/or planning on cancelling.

If you aren’t aware of the potential work stoppage and book a flight expecting to travel, shame on the airline for not informing you but selling tickets with the promise of a full refund or rebooking when the possibility of averting the strike exist, is not really something to get up in arms about.