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Air Canada Pilots Vote Overwhelmingly to Strike
Pilots at “Air Canada” may strike next month after overwhelmingly voting for a strike mandate. This week, the strike vote passed with 98% support, according to the union. Negotiations between Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents the company’s 5,400+ pilots, commenced in June 2023.
Although the airline claims that the parties have reached an agreement on several matters, the union identifies compensation, retirement benefits, and quality-of-life improvements as causes of disagreement.
Air Canada pilots currently work under the provisions of a 2014 collective agreement. The Canadian Press said that ALPA’s Air Canada unit president Charlene Hudy called the agreement “outdated” and “outmoded,” noting that some parts date back to the company’s 2003 bankruptcy. The contract expired in September 2023. Pilots may strike Sept. 17.
Federal rules and regulations govern labour disputes in Canada’s aviation industry. After six months of negotiations, Air Canada and ALPA started private mediation in January 2024. The pilots union filed a notice of dispute and started mediation in June after failing to secure a new collective agreement with Air Canada.
Canadian pilot unions are watching record-breaking contracts granted to their southern counterparts. Recent pilot deals with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines feature pay increases of up to 50%. U.S. pilots will earn twice as much as Canadians under the new contracts.
Air Canada pilots cite a compensation boost at United Airlines as a cause for the rise. Hudy told The Canadian Press, “We all fly under the Star Alliance, so we fly the same passengers in the same airspace on some of the same routes, and these pilots are paying significantly more than we are.
In September 2023, United pilots signed a new collective agreement that will enhance compensation by 40% over four years.