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(Truro) - The president of CUPE Nova Scotia, Danny Cavanagh says he will do all in his power to ensure the flight attendant base stays open in Halifax.
 “Even though the federal minister has not allowed the exemption request by Air Canada, we need to understand that we are only starting this fight,” says Cavanagh. “Minister Blackburn’s decision is a bit of good news, but it doesn’t change the fact that we still have a huge fight in front of us to stop the closure of the Halifax base.”
The union leader says that losing 187 jobs is not good for the economy of the province or the Halifax region. “This economic hit will be staggering for the local economy,” Cavanagh states. “Eight million dollars in lost wages will be gone forever if we allow this base to close. That’s not acceptable!”
Flight attendants agreed to a 13.5 per cent wage cut, among other concessions, in 2003 and 2004 to help pull the airline out of a financial crisis. In previous rounds of concessionary bargaining, the collective agreement was gutted to help the company recover from financial instability.
“Workers at Air Canada tightened their belts to assist the airline and help keep the company afloat,” says Cavanagh, “now Air Canada is paying us back by throwing us an anvil and closing our Halifax base.”
A support rally for Air Canada flight attendants is being held today at 2 pm at the Halifax Grand Parade. Among the speakers are Alexa McDonough, MP; Mayor Peter Kelly; Bill Dooks, Minister of Tourism; Rick Clarke, President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and Danny Cavanagh, President of CUPE Nova Scotia.
 

For more information please call:

Danny Cavanagh
President, CUPE Nova Scotia
902-957-0822