The Air Canada Component of CUPE, the union representing over 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, says its members have voted 99.7% in favour of strike action, if necessary.
The vote reflects the deep frustration of flight attendants after months of negotiations without result, due to the airline’s refusal to fairly negotiate on key issues like unpaid work, work rules, and poverty-level wages.
“The company would rather drag their feet than negotiate on the things that matter to our members,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE. “Now, flight attendants have had a chance to weigh in and tell the company it’s time to get serious about negotiating.”
A strike vote is a necessary precursor for legal job action but does not necessarily mean that Air Canada flight attendants will be going on strike.
Since 2000, inflation has increased 169% and average full-time wages have increased 210% in Canada. But entry-level Air Canada flight attendants’ wages have increased only 10% – just $3 per hour – in the past 25 years.
Meanwhile, Air Canada flight attendants are not paid for a significant portion of their time on the job, including while they perform critical safety checks, attend to onboard medical and safety emergencies, and assist passengers with boarding and deplaning.
“While the airline continues to slap junk fees on flyers and gouge the public, they’re also exploiting their own employees by severely underpaying flight attendants or refusing to pay them at all for safety-critical aspects of our jobs,” said Lesosky.
“Air Canada has raked billions in profits in the past few years. They can afford to pay us fairly without raising costs for the public.”
Having taken a strike vote, the union could be in a legal strike as soon as August 16 at 12:01AM ET.
READ: Briefing note on key bargaining issues
WATCH: Video to Air Canada flight attendants from Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE