This week, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) announced that CUPE has been successful in its campaign to organize approximately 1,200 cabin crew at Porter Airlines.
“When workers organize, they win,” said CUPE National President Mark Hancock. “We are honoured to welcome Porter cabin crew to CUPE. We look forward to making sure they get a fair deal when negotiating their very first collective agreement.”
“These workers will now have the resources of Canada’s largest union at their disposal,” said CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick. “This is a historic step in the fight for fair wages for flight attendants across the country.”
CUPE now represents approximately 20,000 cabin crew at airlines large and small across the country. For the past 40 years, CUPE has worked with flight attendants to raise the bar across the industry, with better wages and health and safety protections, improved cabin air quality standards, better premiums for extended duty days, and an end to restrictive and often discriminatory uniform and grooming policies.
“Today is a really big day for Porter cabin crew, and I’m so proud of my colleagues who have spent countless hours organizing for this win,” said Sarah Seal, a cabin crew member at Porter Airlines. “This is an exciting new chapter for all of us and we look forward to improving our working conditions and wages as Porter continues to grow and succeed.”