Air Canada Flight Attendants Overwhelmingly Reject Wage Deal
Air Canada’s flight attendants have made their voices heard loud and clear. After weeks of tension, strikes, and a temporary deal, they’ve voted overwhelmingly against a tentative agreement that was supposed to settle their dispute with the airline. What’s striking here is the scale of the rejection—99.1 per cent of union members voted “no” in the ratification process. Out of more than 10,000 ballots cast, the vast majority stood against Air Canada’s proposed wage terms.
Now, this rejection doesn’t mean that another strike will immediately happen. Instead, the union, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, will go back into mediation with Air Canada. If no agreement can be reached, the matter will be handed to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, where an arbitrator will make a binding decision on wage increases. That ruling, once made, cannot be challenged by either side.
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The core issue at play is wages. Flight attendants argue that Air Canada has never bargained in good faith, pointing out that the company seemed to expect government intervention rather than true negotiations. Union president Wesley Lesosky has been vocal in saying that flight attendants deserve fair pay, especially after they took the bold step of striking in August despite a federal back-to-work order. That strike, though short-lived at just three days, brought domestic and international flights to a halt and forced the airline into making some concessions.
One of those concessions was groundbreaking—Air Canada agreed for the first time to pay attendants for some of the work they do before planes take off and after they land. Previously, this ground time went unpaid, even though it involved critical duties like safety checks and boarding assistance. Under the tentative deal, attendants would earn 50 per cent of their hourly rate for that pre-departure hour, climbing to 70 per cent by the fourth year of the contract.
But when it came to wages, the deal simply didn’t sit right with workers. Air Canada had offered increases of 20.25 per cent over four years for junior attendants and 16.25 per cent for those with more experience. According to CUPE, those numbers would still leave many attendants earning less than the federal minimum wage when averaged out monthly. For example, a full-time Air Canada Rouge attendant would bring in just over $2,200 a month, compared to a minimum wage equivalent of $2,840.
The pay issue isn’t just about numbers—it’s about livelihood. The union has even set up food banks in Vancouver and Toronto to support new members who can’t make ends meet. While long-serving attendants can eventually earn more than $70,000 annually, many newcomers struggle to cover housing and groceries, and unpredictable schedules make second jobs nearly impossible.
So now, the future of Air Canada’s flight attendant contract rests in the hands of mediators—or ultimately an arbitrator. What’s clear, though, is that the workforce has drawn a firm line in the sand: they won’t accept anything less than wages that reflect the real value and demands of their work.
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