In mid-August 2025, we saw Air Canada flight attendants go on strike for a period of around four days. It’s one of the messiest labor disputes that we’ve seen in the industry in a long time, given that all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights were grounded, then the government ordered flight attendants to return to work, and then they defied that order.
Eventually, the union agreed to have flight attendants return to work, under the agreement that they could vote on Air Canada’s new wage offer, and if it’s rejected, then go to mediation, and then go to arbitration. So along those lines, there’s now an update…
In this post:
Air Canada flight attendants reject new wage offer
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has announced that voting has wrapped up among flight attendants for Air Canada’s latest wage offer. Voter turnout was 94.6%, and of those who participated, 99.1% voted against ratifying the contract.
The issue of wages will now proceed to mediation, and then arbitration, if necessary. The union claims that flight attendants were able to obtain partial pay for some of their ground duties in this round of bargaining, but states that “this is only the beginning.”
The union also blasts the federal government as playing a “corrosive role” in this entire situation, and that “rather than maintaining their neutrality, the federal government kept their thumb on the scale throughout the bargaining process and gave Air Canada the leverage they needed to suppress flight attendants’ wages.” Here’s what Wesley Lesosky, President of Air Canada’s CUPE, had to say:
“Air Canada never bargained in good faith on wages. By CEO Michael Rousseau’s own admission, the company expected the federal government to intervene and take away the only leverage we had – our right to go on strike. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu only waited 11 hours to prove the company right.”
Indeed, he’s not wrong about that. In an interview with Air Canada’s CEO during the strike, Rousseau was asked by a reporter why the airline didn’t make any provisions to ensure passengers would get to where they needed to go. His answer (at the 2min30sec mark below) was that “well, we thought obviously, the Section 107 would be enforced, and that they wouldn’t illegally avoid Section 107.”
So yeah, I don’t want to say that Air Canada wasn’t negotiating in good faith, but the airline clearly didn’t think the government would actually allow the strike to happen. I find it even stranger that the government allowed the strike to start, but then decided to step in hours later, when much of the damage had already been done.
The union argues that even with proposed wage increases, Air Canada flight attendants will earn less than the federal minimum wage:
“Even with the proposed increase, Air Canada flight attendants would still earn less than federal minimum wage, which is $17.75 per hour or $2,840 per month on a 40-hour workweek. By contrast, a full-time Rouge flight attendant would earn just $2,219 per month, and a full-time mainline flight attendant would earn only $2,522 per month. Full-time workers at a flagship corporation and the national air carrier should not be earning less than minimum wage and qualifying for income supports.”
This will be an interesting case for arbitration
Labor negotiations of this scale are of course consistently complicated. The job of management of a publicly traded company is to maximize profits, while the goal of a union is to provide the best outcome for members. As much as we’d like to think that paying people well leads to better service, those two concepts are often at odds with one another.
Now this case is going to mediation, and if that’s not successful, it will go to arbitration. What’s interesting is that on the surface, Canada makes it fairly easy for workers to actually go on strike. That’s different than in the United States, where airline unions can vote to authorize a strike, but then actually being allowed to go on strike is virtually unheard of, due to the Railway Labor Act.
While Canada has a liberal government, it’s noteworthy how quickly they squashed the ability of the union to go on strike. Air Canada’s CEO admitting that they weren’t actually expecting flight attendants to be allowed to go on strike is quite something.
I’m curious to see how this all plays out. The airline industry is incredibly challenging. It’s low margin, highly cyclical, and impossibly complex. I understand the need for airlines to keep their costs as low as possible. In the US, we’re seeing the practical implications of the increased labor rates, which is that profits are even more centralized among a couple of carriers.
At the same time, I can of course appreciate the desire for those providing service in the industry to earn a decent wage, so that they can support themselves and their families. That shouldn’t be an unrealistic ask.
If this does go to arbitration, I’m curious where the arbitrator ends up drawing the line in terms of deciding what’s fair.
Bottom line
Air Canada flight attendants have voted down the company’s wage offer by over 99%, as the latest development in this messy labor dispute. This follows the mid-August strike, whereby the airline came to a standstill for nearly four full days.
The government ultimately saved Air Canada from the strike dragging on, and now the two parties will be going to mediation, before going to arbitration (assuming the mediation doesn’t work out). I’m curious to see what kind of a deal they end up agreeing on with this third party involvement.
How do you see this mediation and arbitration situation playing out?
AC is mediocre airline staffed by mediocre cabin crew (and yes they are 'unskilled' as a previous poster truthfully stated), in a country governed by a mediocre govt. These three warring parties richly deserve each other. I eagerly await the same thing to happen to other mediocrity called Lufthansa.
Many FA's of AC are of Indian origin, to them $$$$ before service. they try to copy airlines in India and provide the least amount of service. I had the misfortune of Flying AC Sfo to YYZ last month in Business Class. I have never come across a worst FA like this Lady (so called FA) named Monica.She just refused to give me water to take my medicine (Diabetic) till she was ready to bring...
Many FA's of AC are of Indian origin, to them $$$$ before service. they try to copy airlines in India and provide the least amount of service. I had the misfortune of Flying AC Sfo to YYZ last month in Business Class. I have never come across a worst FA like this Lady (so called FA) named Monica.She just refused to give me water to take my medicine (Diabetic) till she was ready to bring out the cart. ( Remind you I was sitting in 1A, wife in 1B). She was rude all the way from SFO to YYZ I do not know what was her issue,maybe she was a Former Air India FA.
Love that you’re complaining about an issue you created yourself by not bringing your own water onboard.
Take some accountability and don’t blame others for your issues.
Is it your first time flying? There are multiple times per flight that flight attendants are unable to provide service and the period in which they are may not align with when you think it is.
These stewardesses need to wake up and smell the coffee. Airlines operate at razor thin margins and if these women believe they need more money, they should go out and get an education and learn a skill that pays more.
The CEO and a lot of upper management are also very low skilled labour. Maybe thin some ranks there
I’d those women were appointed CEO and given upper management positions, Air Canada would be bankrupt inside of a week.
And what about any AC male 'stewardesses' ?
good for AC's FAs in keeping up the fight; they are trying to redefine N. American FA contracts and, while they may not succeed, they will fight to make their point.
The real loser in all of this is UA and its FAs who have a new model for compensation. If the AFA is even remotely awake, they are looking at what the AC FAs are doing and will fight for what matters for UA...
good for AC's FAs in keeping up the fight; they are trying to redefine N. American FA contracts and, while they may not succeed, they will fight to make their point.
The real loser in all of this is UA and its FAs who have a new model for compensation. If the AFA is even remotely awake, they are looking at what the AC FAs are doing and will fight for what matters for UA FAs. UA has played into the perceived powerlessness of its labor groups to save the company more than $1 billion/year in compensation. UA loves to convince its employees about how great the company is doing - even though most of it comes right off the employees' backs.
The notion that US labor laws are so much tougher and therefore the UA FAs won't succeed might as well lead to dissolving airline unions; if they can't fight and succeed in the present environment, then their members should simply dissolve their representation.
Sara Nelson is a tool and cancer on the industry. She is far more interested in her own TV appearances than her union.
Tim did you get abused or raped by someone at United when you're young?
It seems you're the only person obsessed with UA. No one else brought up UA like you accused people in other posts.
But you and FA are foolish to believe the government will "maintaining their neutrality". It's called Air Canada after all, not Air FA, Air Union, or Air Tim Dunn.
again, UA is the only one of the big 4 that has yet to settle w/ its FAs.
No one has to have been abused by UA to realize that it is all smoke, mirrors and happy music to hide how well UA takes advantage of ITS people.
It must be a Star kind of thing.
and you are the fool if you think that a private company should suckle at the nipple of its regulator.
You act like this is a complicated job. This is literally a waitress at 35000 ft. It's not rocket science. I'd fire them all, scrap the union, and pay them fairly. Without union dues they actually would make more $
Dumm,
then why doesn't UA AND AC lock out their unions.
I presume you believe that the mechanics and pilots are the only skilled workers at an airline so every one else should just be locked out, the unions thrown out, and everyone should be happy, right?
Tim, somehow you managed to drag Delta into this and then the airline you hate United.
You getting fired from your airline job makes you a bitter troll.
This is purely endless greed by the FAs.
They claim they get paid less than minimum wage, but the numbers they use in their arguments are based on the assumption they work full time, which is not true.
They do not work full time, which is 40 hours per week...they work much less than that.
Also, their travel perks are worth tens of thousands of dollars...you should include this in your total compensation before...
This is purely endless greed by the FAs.
They claim they get paid less than minimum wage, but the numbers they use in their arguments are based on the assumption they work full time, which is not true.
They do not work full time, which is 40 hours per week...they work much less than that.
Also, their travel perks are worth tens of thousands of dollars...you should include this in your total compensation before you claim you make too little money.
I have zero empathy for the AC FAs: they are just entitled, greedy group of people who think they are special and claim they are the unluckiest people on the planet, while providing garbage-level service to customers.
Another day in Canuckistan
The membership was sold out in the back room so that CUPE execs can save massive fines from the Canadian government. CUPE embarrassed the Canadian government yet folded pretty quickly without actually solving the wage issue.
The Canadian government is very anti-labour and the PM is an elitist globalist who was the central banker for Canada and England. So....he will not allow the "little" people interfere with his economy.
There are no rights...
The membership was sold out in the back room so that CUPE execs can save massive fines from the Canadian government. CUPE embarrassed the Canadian government yet folded pretty quickly without actually solving the wage issue.
The Canadian government is very anti-labour and the PM is an elitist globalist who was the central banker for Canada and England. So....he will not allow the "little" people interfere with his economy.
There are no rights in Canada anymore....only the illusion....COVID and the latest use of the Labour code proves that.
This union wants their cake and they want to eat it, too. Their argument is that wages are below minimum wage, which might be true but only for junior FAs. If CUPE is anything like American carriers, I’d bet that their pay scale has a senior FA making more than double a junior FA and for what good reason?
I think unions should exist for unskilled labor like FAs, but it’s hard to root...
This union wants their cake and they want to eat it, too. Their argument is that wages are below minimum wage, which might be true but only for junior FAs. If CUPE is anything like American carriers, I’d bet that their pay scale has a senior FA making more than double a junior FA and for what good reason?
I think unions should exist for unskilled labor like FAs, but it’s hard to root for CUPE and others like them when they seem to only really care about senior FAs. The only reason those junior FAs get lower than minimum wage is because senior FAs are probably making double and again, for what reason?
I’d personally appreciate if an arbitrator fixed this by more properly balancing the pay scale. If an FA wants to advance their pay faster, they can move to the schoolhouse, or management roles, but doing the same work and expecting double the pay just because you’ve done it longer than someone else is dumb.
I say all this and 100% agree with all FAs and others who believe Air Canada has too favourable treatment from the government and that has to be changed.
You lost us as calling flight attendants unskilled labor.
I’m sorry, I more meant that FAs are easier to replace than say a pilot or EMT. Not that the training is easy, or anyone can do it, because certainly not everyone can.
Why? It's a 12 weeks of training! That's what low skilled work is
AC has such mediocre product and mediocre service its kind of laughable. And for being Canadian it's funny how the company hates its employees, the FAs hate their customers, and no one cares about the product.
Canadians can be shockingly rude. I know two women from Ontario who are insufferable. I also know a man from British Columbia who constantly dunks on poor, working class people because he makes $2 million as a data scientist at Meta.
Way to generalize, long thick dude.
The upperups in the government (blue and red alike) belong to the same country club as AC upper management.
There is a glaring conflict of interest obviously. Part of the reason why AC continues getting bailouts (2008 Cons, 2020 Liberals) and continues to be subsidized by not allowing the ME3 freely into Canada
The sooner we allow AC to go bankrupt, and get rid of 1/2 the management, and make new rules for employees the better.
The stupidity of seniority with FA is epic.