Air Canada flight attendants vote overwhelmingly in favour of strike mandate

More than 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge have voted 99.7 per cent in favour of strike action, the Air Canada Component of CUPE announced today.

The result follows months of negotiations between the union and the airline, with talks stalling over key issues including unpaid work, scheduling rules and wage concerns.

“The company would rather drag their feet than negotiate on the things that matter to our members,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE. 

“Now, flight attendants have had a chance to weigh in and tell the company it’s time to get serious about negotiating.”

The strike vote does not necessarily mean job action is imminent. 

However, it gives the union the legal authority to initiate a strike as early as August 16 at 12:01 a.m. ET, provided all other legal conditions are met.

The union has pointed to growing wage disparities as a core issue. 

According to CUPE, while inflation has increased by 169 per cent since 2000 and average full-time wages in Canada have risen by 210 per cent, entry-level wages for Air Canada flight attendants have increased just 10 per cent—equivalent to $3 per hour—over the past 25 years.

CUPE also says flight attendants are not paid for significant portions of their workday, including during passenger boarding, safety checks and medical or safety-related duties.

“While the airline continues to slap junk fees on flyers and gouge the public, they’re also exploiting their own employees by severely underpaying flight attendants or refusing to pay them at all for safety-critical aspects of our jobs,” said Lesosky.

“Air Canada has raked billions in profits in the past few years. They can afford to pay us fairly without raising costs for the public.”

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