Air Canada flight attendants may go on strike. Here’s what’s happening

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Flight attendants for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are back at the bargaining table after their 10-year collective agreement came to an end on Monday.

The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing more than 10,000 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants, said in a news release that it’s the “beginning of a new, and hopeful era for us.”

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“We have grown, evolved and accomplished so much together, united as a membership, we have also sacrificed a lot, too,” the union said.

The union has called on its members to gather together for “bargaining and mobilization” from Tuesday to Saturday at various Canadian base locations. Kicking off this week, members will meet in Montreal on Tuesday, Toronto on Wednesday, followed by Vancouver on Friday and, finally, Calgary on Saturday.

Here’s what to know as negotiations begin.

Could Air Canada flight attendants go on strike?

According to the union, a strike is unlikely.

“We cannot go on strike until we have come to an impasse and have taken a strike vote, and that would not be until we have gone into conciliation, possible mediation and then come to a full impasse, completed a cooling off period and moved forward. There will be ample notice and information prior to us going down that road,” the union’s bargaining committee said in an update.

In an emailed statement to the National Post, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE Wesley Lesosky said that he wanted to emphasize that the union is “working very hard to get a deal done and avoid job action.”

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“I also want to note that negotiations are proceeding, and the union has bargaining dates set with the company into June,” he said. He added that mobilization was a normal part of the bargaining process and highlighted its importance given the fact that the previous deal was negotiated before “roughly half of the current workforce came onboard.”

“This is about ensuring members are informed and educated on the issues, in the event the union needs to ask them for a strong strike mandate to support job action and get the contract that members deserve,” he said.

What does Air Canada have to say?

In an emailed statement to the National Post, Air Canada said they have been in negotiations with CUPE since the beginning of the year and are “committed to working with the union to achieve an agreement that recognizes our flight attendants’ contribution to the success of Air Canada.”

The statement continued: “With respect to pay, Air Canada’s compensation for flight attendants is a negotiated item. The model currently in place was endorsed by the union in the last bargaining round and has been incorporated in other collective bargaining agreements dating back many years. Our approach is also consistent with that at most other global carriers. In fact, CUPE reached a new agreement with another large Canadian carrier last year that also uses this approach. That said, we are certainly open to discuss this item with the union as part of a more general conversation about overall compensation in our upcoming contract talks.”

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What are flight attendants pushing for in a new agreement?

There have been many changes to the industry since the agreement was reached in 2015.

“Flight attendants have said loud and clear that they are finished with performing hours of work for free every time they come to work, including everything from boarding and deplaning to important safety-related (and Transport Canada-mandated) duties without compensation,” said Lesosky.

Flight attendants are pushing to end unpaid work. CUPE’s Airline Division launched a campaign to raise awareness about the issue, even asking for national political party leaders to pledge their help. CUPE’s Air Canada Component is part of the Airline Division, along with flight attendants from WestJet (including WestJet Encore and Swoop), Air Transat, Sunwing, Calm Air, PAL Airlines, Canadian North, Flair Airlines, Pivot and PasCan.

The campaign also asks Canadians to hit send on a pre-filled-out email to Air Canada that states: “Flight attendants deserve to be paid during boarding, safety checks, deplaning, and any time they’re working. Air Canada needs to stop putting profits ahead of workers and everyone’s safety.”

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For Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants, they are only paid once the flight is “in motion,” Lesosky said in a December news release. Generally, they are paid when the plane pushes back from the gate to when the brakes go on at arrival, a union spokesperson told the National Post.

According to CUPE, flight attendants perform hours of unpaid “critical work” like assisting passengers during boarding and deplaning, and doing pre-flight safety checks. A survey conducted between Dec. 10, 2022, and Jan. 11, 2023 found that flight attendants in Canada work, on average, nearly 35 hours per month unpaid.

Flight attendants are also pushing for a wage increase.

How much can flight attendants earn?

According to the collective agreement obtained by the National Post, Air Canada flight attendants earned $30.02 per hour of work in their first year as of April 1, 2024. Air Canada flight attendants in their fifth year of work earned $48.68 per hour as of April 1, 2024. The rates of pay went all the way up to 10 years, which would be $63.07 per hour as of April 1, 2024.

For Air Canada Rouge flight attendants, they earned $26.42 per hour of work in their first year as of April 1, 2024, compared to $41.39 per hour of work for a Rouge flight attendant in their fifth year. (The rates of pay only went up to five years in the agreement.)

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In 2023, the starting salary for an Air Canada Rouge flight attendant was $26,487 in the first year, Lesosky said in a news release.

“Simply put, these are poverty wages for the inflight safety professionals responsible for keeping the public safe on the ground and at 30,000 feet,” said Lesosky over email.

Have wages increased for flight attendants?

Yes. The wages for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants have increased by two per cent per year of the agreement. Over the life of the agreement, that’s 20 per cent, a spokesperson for the union told the National Post in an email. However, the cost of living has increased by 29.98 per cent over that time, “so they have lost significant purchasing power,” the spokesperson said.

The flight attendants’ “purchasing power has fallen far behind over the life of the current contract,” said Lesosky. “That is the key piece in what the union is looking to rectify in this round of bargaining.”

How long will it take to bargain a new collective agreement?

The bargaining committee has been working on a timeline since June 2023, according to an update the group posted online.

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The timeline is keeping in mind the union’s “media campaign at the start of negotiations, mobilization, communications to membership through a multitude of platforms, the next federal election, conciliation period, strike mandate and vote, 72-hour notice to strike, and most importantly the most impactful time to go on strike if needed.”

The goal, the group said, is to have a “tentative deal done much sooner than what we saw play out previously with other groups.”

In August, Air Canada pilots, part of the Air Line Pilots Association, voted in favour of a strike. A tentative deal was reached in September and a strike was avoided.

What happens to the agreement while negotiations are underway?

According to the union’s bargaining committee, the current collective agreement remains in place past the expiry date and any retroactivity would be addressed as a part of negotiating the new agreement.

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