Sunwing’s flight attendants rejected a tentative agreement reached earlier with the employer by a margin of 68.8 %. The CUPE Local 4055 bargaining committee will now consult the members and ask for a strike mandate.
In early January, the bargaining committee will visit all of Sunwing’s bases across the country to listen to the members and hear what additional improvements should be made to their collective agreement. The bargaining committee will also ask the members to give them a strike mandate. Once this round of consultation is over, the union will be ready to go back to the bargaining table.
“A strong mandate from our members will increase our bargaining power, and we will use that strength to negotiate the fair deal we deserve”, said CUPE Local 4055 President, Mark Brancelj.
The flight attendants’ collective agreement expired on May 31, 2016. After six months of negotiations, a tentative agreement with the employer was reached on November 8. The results of the ratification vote were released on December 20.
CUPE Local 4055 represents 1,000 flight attendants working at Sunwing’s eight bases: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Winnipeg.
