Source: ALPA
Air Canada pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), voted overwhelmingly in favour to authorize union leaders to call a strike. With 98 percent of members participating, 98 percent of Air Canada pilots voted in favour of job action, if necessary, to achieve a new contractual agreement with Air Canada.
Air Canada pilots are working under pay rates and quality-of-life provisions negotiated in 2014. Negotiations for a new agreement began in June 2023. Talks entered private mediation in January 2024 and lasted until June 2024, at which point the union decided to file a notice of dispute and enter conciliation because the two sides were unable to reach a new collective agreement.
“More than 5,400 Air Canada pilots sent a clear message to management that we are willing to go the distance to secure a contract that reflects the value we bring to Air Canada,” said First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA Master Executive Council. “Our goal is to avoid a strike, and our focus remains on modernizing our contract for Air Canada pilots. However, management continues to force us closer to a strike position by not listening to our needs at the negotiating table regarding fair compensation, respectable retirement benefits, and quality-of-life improvements. After more than a year of negotiations, management must now come to the realization that if they fail to reach an agreement, they will be responsible for us withdrawing our services.”
Air Canada pilots are prepared for any outcome, thanks in large part to a $5 million (USD) grant from their union’s war chest, which was unanimously authorized by ALPA’s Executive Board to support contact negotiations in this final stage.
“Air Canada pilots are committed to avoiding a strike and the flight disruptions that would follow, and that’s why we continue to negotiate in good faith,” continued Hudy. “Air Canada management has the power – and the resources – to avoid a strike, flight disruptions, and lasting damage to its brand. All they have to do is recognize the value of their employees.”
Air Canada pilots will be in a legal position to commence job action as early as mid-September if no agreement has been reached by the end of the cooling-off period.