Air Canada flight attendants rally at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Aug. 18. The attendants’ three-day strike ground domestic and international flights to a halt, before a deal was reached last week.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Air Canada flight attendants will begin voting to ratify a tentative agreement reached last week between their union and the air carrier, amid some internal dissent that the deal does not guarantee sufficient wage increases.
The labour dispute between Air Canada AC-T and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) made headlines when striking flight attendants defied a back-to-work order issued by the federal government. The strike lasted three days and ground domestic and international flights to a halt. But it was a move that ultimately culminated in CUPE brokering a tentative deal with Air Canada which gave flight attendants, for the first time, compensation for the unpaid work they do before an aircraft departs.
Between Aug. 27 and Sept. 6, more than 10,000 flight attendants will have the chance to ratify the deal, or vote it down and have an arbitrator decide on the final terms of a renewed collective agreement.
But the agreement that was reached between Air Canada and CUPE on Aug. 19 is unique in that new language included in the deal – notably the issue of unpaid work – is binding and will not be subject to a vote. The exception to this is wages: CUPE flight attendants will essentially be voting on whether they accept the wage increases offered by Air Canada and agreed upon by the union.
Air Canada flight attendants scored a big win. Don’t expect the same for other unions
The subject of wages appears to be a contentious one among flight attendants, according to conversations with two flight attendants, both of whom have worked at Air Canada for four years. They said that they were disappointed with the wage increases that were ultimately agreed upon by the union because they do not come close to matching the wage increases that Air Canada pilots obtained in 2024.
Both flight attendants plan to vote against the deal. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the flight attendants because they are not authorized to speak publicly about internal employee issues.
In 2024, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) successfully negotiated a 26-per-cent increase for Air Canada pilots in year one of their contract, and a 42-per-cent cumulative wage increase over a four-year period.
The most recent deal brokered between the Air Canada Component of CUPE, which represents flight attendants, will see a cumulative wage bump of more than 20 per cent for flight attendants with less than five years of service with the airline, and 17 per cent for those with more than five years of experience.
Starting pay is currently $30 an hour for Air Canada flight attendants. Cabin crews at discount wing Air Canada Rouge start at $26.42 an hour. Flight attendants get regular increases every year as they move up through seniority on the pay grid, a common feature in unionized workplaces.
“The difference with Air Canada flight attendants is they were coming out of a 10-year contract, and inflation skyrocketed in that period. They were expecting a bigger-than-usual wage increase because they are playing catch-up,” said Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University.
Meanwhile, an online petition which was started by a flight attendant two days after CUPE and Air Canada reached a deal is urging the airline to increase its wage offer to match the percentage increase pilots received last year. The petition implies that a decision on wages will be inevitably be made by an arbitrator, suggesting that some flight attendants would prefer for the issue of wages to be litigated in front of a federal labour board, instead of ratifying the current version of the deal.
In a letter sent on Monday evening to members, Air Canada Component’s bargaining unit emphasized that they were not willing to compromise and “accept wages” without flight attendants being able to have their say. The letter stated that Air Canada refused to move on wages and the mediator present at the negotiation was also unsuccessful in pushing the airline to budge on wages.
“If we had walked away from the bargaining table, we would have faced the very real risk of being forced into binding arbitration, and the membership would have lost any right to vote on the contract,” stated the letter.
The union is urging its members to vote in favour of the deal.
Editor’s note: A prevoius version of this article incorrectly stated that the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) successfully negoitated a four-year contract for Air Canada pilots in 2024. Air Canada pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which negotiated that contract.