Fact-based overview of what transpired during the Bargaining process between the union that represent Air Canada flight attendants and Air Canada

Press release from The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

As we committed to at the beginning of Bargaining, we are sending out the following message to ensure you remain factually informed.

We have received thousands of messages and emails, and we are doing our best to respond promptly to all.

In order to correct the inevitable misinformation and confusion being circulated by those who were not at the bargaining table and those who may not have had an opportunity to attend one of our virtual Bargaining Zoom Roadshows, we are providing the following fact-based overview of what transpired during the Bargaining process.

May 13, 2025:

After six months of bargaining, the Union filed for conciliation. While the Union and the Employer engaged in discussions on proposals, there were very few concrete counterproposals or signed-off agreements on items tabled by the Union.

June-July 2025:

Four federal mediators were assigned to assist with negotiations.

July 26, 2025:

The 60-day conciliation window concluded without a tentative agreement. The 21-day cooling-off period began as mandated under the Canada Labour Code

July 28, 2025:

Your Union began taking a membership strike vote.

August 5, 2025:

Our membership delivered an unprecedented strike mandate of 99.7%.

August 8, 2025:

We recommenced bargaining with the Employer, beginning with pension improvements.

August 10, 2025:

The Employer remained entrenched in its position on wages and ground pay.

August 11, 2025:

The Employer suggested that we agree to enter voluntary arbitration. Your Union declined, as this would have amounted to the Union agreeing to forgo members’ rights to ratify a tentative agreement.

August 12, 2025:

The Employer appealed to the Minister of Jobs and Families, Patty Hadju, to invoke Section 107 to pre-empt job action by flight attendants and force us into arbitration. This was done before we had even started strike action and after your Union went back to the Employer with a revised wage proposal: a proposal that continued to reflect industry-leading wages.

August 13, 2025:

Your Union provided strike notice at 12:58am; the Employer responded by issuing a lockout notice 32 minutes later.

August 14, 2025:

Air Canada continued to be absent at the bargaining table and showed no interest in bargaining. They continued to advance a false narrative, including claims that we had been given “industry-leading compensation.”

Air Canada held a press conference filled with misinformation to disparage your Union and our membership, reiterating their calls for federal intervention.

Your Union held a press conference with CUPE National President, Mark Hancock, warning against federal intervention and calling on Air Canada to return to the bargaining table.

August 15, 2025:

The Minister of Jobs and Families convened a meeting with your Union and the Employer to encourage both parties to find a deal in the remaining hours.

We immediately engaged the mediators to convey our willingness to meet with the Employer and come to a deal. The Employer responded with an offer that showed no intention to move off their entrenched positions; this was the same position that had been presented to you.

August 16, 2025:

At 12:58am, the Air Canada Component of CUPE went on strike for the first time in 40 years.

At 1:30am, Air Canada locked us out.

At 12:30am, Minister Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to request the Canadian Industrial Relations Board end our strike and refer all matters to binding arbitration. This order would immediately remove our constitutionally protected right to strike and any right to vote on a proposed contract.

The recently appointed Canadian Industrial Relations Board Chairperson, Maryse Tremblay, accepted the Minister’s referral and chose to oversee the proceedings along with two other members of the Board. A request was made to Maryse Tremblay to recuse herself from the proceedings due to her lengthy and close ties with Air Canada as legal counsel both in-house and privately. The Union strongly believed that there was a perception or apprehension of bias and, as such, Ms. Tremblay was bound to recuse herself. Ms. Tremblay dismissed our argument and proceeded to rule in favour of Air Canada and ordered the strike to be ended.

August 17, 2025:

Air Canada applies to have our strike deemed illegal: Flight attendants continue to walk the picket line.

August 18, 2025:

CUPE National holds a press conference reiterating that the only deal we will accept is a deal reached at the table.

CUPE National President, Mark Hancock, states that if a strike is deemed illegal, we will continue with our strike action until our Bargaining rights are respected.

6:00pm: Air Canada’s Chief Operating Officer, Mark Nasr tells media Air Canada will not come back to the bargaining table until flight attendants end their strike.

6:45pm: Air Canada approaches the Bargaining Committee to ask if we would return to the bargaining table.

August 19, 2025:

4:23am: Tentative agreement reached. This is the tentative agreement presented to you. This tentative agreement was not done through arbitration.

This is historic: We defied the government, and the Employer was left with little choice but to come back to the bargaining table.

Throughout this process, we insisted that there must be greater gains on unpaid work.

We pushed back on this repeatedly, well into the evening.

Your Executive unanimously agreed that we were not willing to compromise and accept wages without YOU having your say.

We held firm on the vacation increase and passport renewals for Mainline members.

We went back and forth, pushing for much-needed increases to expenses. The Employer refused to move on expenses or wages. The mediator was similarly unsuccessful in securing meaningful engagement on key monetary items.

Where We Are Today

There are now two outcomes before you:

1.) Ratify the deal as presented, including all terms and wages, including a promissory letter that “service fees will continue to be waived for all Cabin personnel pass travel until expiry of the collective agreement”.

or

2.) Turn down the deal. All terms will be protected, and the issue of wages will move forward to arbitration. Note that the promissory letter stating “service fees will continue to be waived for all Cabin personnel pass travel until expiry of the collective agreement” will not continue.

*Note: Service fees are outlined on the travel website. They are generally $5.00 per segment and are separate from airport improvement fees, taxes, etc.

Your Union did not make this decision lightly. We made an informed decision based on facts. We evaluated all risks, including where we were in the process, morale on the picket line, public engagement, and what could happen if we walked away.

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.

The collective agreement would have been decided in its entirety by a third party.

To be VERY clear, your Union was unwavering when faced with the possibility of any fines, jail time or CUPE National’s assets being frozen.

We had the full backing of the CUPE National Union and were never pressured or influenced in any way in our decision-making.

We hear that many of you feel that we were used as pawns in a “game”.

That is simply not the case.

Each member of the Bargaining Committee had a voice.

We had lengthy discussions on every proposal and every turn of events.

We clearly understood what was at stake and knew that our representation of you was a primary focus.

CUPE National Union assisted us and provided advice, and nothing more.

They did not bargain on our behalf.

They did not tell us what we had to do.

They were an information and support mechanism.

About Unpaid Work, and where we go from here, this fight is NOT over!

We will continue our lobbying efforts through labour, government ministries, and the public.

Our website www.unpaidworkwontfly.ca will remain active, and we will continue to advance our cause through all means necessary.

The fight for fairness is not over. We have more information coming on this front, organized through the Airline Division.

Moving Forward

In our opinion, the Employer had no intention of engaging in collective bargaining. It has now been established that the Employer had pre-planned their escape via Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. Air Canada’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rousseau admitted to it on the Business News Network. The Employer was not willing to engage in meaningful discussions on wages that would bring our members above the poverty line and account for the increase in the cost of living.

Your Union took your demands to the table.

We were prepared and committed to bargaining for a fair tentative agreement. We began this process in December 2024.

We were fully available to meet with the Employer, including once the strike notice was issued, up to the return to service.

Your Bargaining Committee understands what we signed up for in this round of negotiations, and we are committed to representing the interests of the membership through to the end.

We feel the frustration. We have lived and breathed this for years in our preparations and beyond.

We are your peers and know how much this matters to you.

We understand morale with this Employer is at an all-time low.

At this crucial juncture, we must stick together.

What we collectively accomplished is a historic moment for the labour movement in Canada and beyond.

Reach out to the Union if you need information: we will provide the facts.

Reflect on what you did, and in turn, the power you gave to your union to represent you in bargaining.

You have shown Air Canada and other corporations like them that workers will fight for what we believe in, and we will not back down.

Throughout this process, we continued to poll the public, and they remained supportive of our cause.

We witnessed media outlets and reporters connecting with our plight. They saw we were authentic in our messaging and our efforts, and that we were the ones communicating the truth.

It is appalling that our government continues to trigger Section 107 in response to corporate pressure. This government’s willingness to interfere in free collective bargaining and its apparent collusion with corporations to circumvent workers’ rights has destroyed morale and caused many of us to question whether our government and those in power believe in or support fairness and equality.

We will live to fight another day and in history will forever be on the side of justice, fairness, and equality.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee
https://accomponent.ca/bargaining-committee-update-49/

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