Air Canada flight attendants approve strike mandate

CUPE Airline Division President Wesley Lesosky explains some of the union's demands and discusses next steps if an agreement can't be reached by Aug. 16.

Air Canada flight attendants have voted 99.7 per cent in favor of strike action if necessary, their union said on Tuesday, in a move that could allow them to walk off the job as early as this month.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement it could give a 72-hour strike notice as early as August 16, after negotiators hit an impasse with the airline in July.

Such a vote is required for legal job action, but does not necessarily mean the flight attendants will go on strike. The union represents over 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and its leisure service, Air Canada Rouge.

“Flight attendants have had a chance to weigh in and tell the company it’s time to get serious about negotiating,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, in a statement.

Flight attendants in Canada and the U.S. are asking for higher wages and compensation for all their time worked, challenging contracts that pay for time in the air but not when they arrive before boarding.

Air Canada said the issue of ground time is being discussed with the union as part of a conversation about overall compensation.

Canada’s largest carrier said in a statement that it is eager to resume discussions which the union had suspended during the vote. Montreal-based Air Canada said it is determined to “reach a fair and equitable collective agreement that recognizes the contributions of its flight attendants and supports the competitiveness and long-term growth of the company.”

Air Canada added it believes “there is more than enough time” to reach an agreement and avoid disrupting “the plans of hundreds of thousands of travelers.”

Reporting By Allison Lampert; Editing by Rod Nickel and Stephen Coates.