Air Canada pilots vote ‘overwhelmingly’ in favour of strike

Air Canada pilots have voted in favour of a strike if a contract agreement cannot be reached.

The pilot’s vote closed Thursday morning and the union, Air Line Pilots Association, released the results.

The pilots “voted overwhelmingly in favour to authorize union leaders to call a strike,” the Air Line Pilots Association says.

With 98 per cent of members participating, 98 per cent of Air Canada pilots voted in favour of job action, if necessary, to achieve a new contractual agreement with Air Canada.

“Today, more than 5,400 Air Canada pilots sent a clear message to management that we are willing to go the distance to secure a contract that reflects the value we bring to Air Canada,” says Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council.

The pilots have been in contract negotiations since June 2023 with the wide wage gap between Canadian pilots and their counterparts in the U.S. one of the main issues. The pilots are working under pay rates and quality-of-life provisions negotiated in 2014, the union says.

Negotiations for a new agreement began in June 2023. Talks entered private mediation in January 2024 and lasted until June 2024. The union says it filed a notice of dispute because the two sides were unable to reach a new collective agreement.

Air Canada has said it is still working to come to an agreement, and the union hopes for a deal too.

“Our goal is to avoid a strike, and our focus remains on modernizing our contract for Air Canada pilots,” Hudy said. “However, management continues to force us closer to a strike position by not listening to our needs at the negotiating table regarding fair compensation, respectable retirement benefits, and quality-of-life improvements.”

Air Canada pilots are prepared for any outcome, thanks in large part to a $5 million (USD) grant from their union’s war chest, the union says.

“Air Canada pilots are committed to avoiding a strike and the flight disruptions that would follow, and that’s why we continue to negotiate in good faith,” Hudy says. “Air Canada management has the power – and the resources – to avoid a strike, flight disruptions, and lasting damage to its brand. All they have to do is recognize the value of their employees.”

Air Canada pilots will be in a legal position to commence job action as early as mid-September if no agreement has been reached by the end of the cooling-off period.