Ten thousand Air Canada workers walked away from their jobs on strike, risking jail time and bountiful fines. The strike started on August 16 and ended late August 19, lasting nearly 4 days. The strike started when the flight attendants tried to negotiate their contract with Air Canada for better and more fair pay, but the airline shut them out, so they went on strike, walking away from their jobs.
When they walked off from their jobs one group was heard chanting,“unpaid work won’t fly,” because they were not being paid for the work they did on the ground when the plane was not flying.
Although the airline ordered for a government-directed abbreviation, (which allowed government intervention to decide the terms of a negotiation) the union supporting the flight attendants would not submit to one. The strike was considered illegal when the union ignored two back to work orders, on top of ignoring the order to comply with a government-directed abbreviation.
The airline and the union finally met on Monday, August 18 for the first time since the strike started. They discussed possible negotiations about the strike, and a new contract with better pay. When the union representatives and the airline finally met, the airline offered a pay increase between 8 percent and 12 percent for flight attendance and pay for up to 60 minutes before take off at 50 percent of their normal pay rate with a 5 percent increase each year. The union and Air Canada came to an agreement on the negotiations of their new contract on August 19, officially ending the strike.
After the strike ended, Air Canada resumed its flights Tuesday evening when the union reached its agreement with Air Canada, resuming flights and retrieving stranded passengers. The union representing the airline’s flight attendants stated that,”Unpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power, when our rights were taken away, we stood strong, we fought back — and we secured a tentative agreement that our members can vote on.” Furthermore, Air Canada chief Executive Micheal Rousseau said, “Full restoration may require a week or more, so we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding over the coming days.”
About 500,000 travelers were affected by the strike according to the airline and many ended up stranded at the airport for many nights while Air Canada only offered a one night hotel stay. “Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers,” the airline says. Many report that the staff was very friendly when the airline’s first flights resumed. After the strike, many flights were canceled due to schedules needing to be worked out and those whose flights were canceled could choose between travel credit, booking a flight with another airline, or a refund of the flight. Many Canadians fully supported the union in the strike for justice as the flight attendants are entitled to be paid in full for all the work they do.