Air Canada pilots have authorized union leaders to initiate a strike if they can\u2019t reach a new collective agreement with the airline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), which represents Air Canada pilots, said 98 percent of members voted in favour of job action, \u201cif necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, 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,\u201d said First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA Master Executive Council, in a release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur goal is to avoid a strike, and our focus remains on modernizing our contract for Air Canada pilots. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pilots have been negotiating for more than a year, and are working under pay rates and other conditions previously negotiated in 2014, per ALPA. Talks entered mediation in January and continued until June, when the union filed a notice of dispute and entered conciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ALPA\u2019s executive board has provided a US$5 million grant from the union\u2019s war chest to support contract negotiations, the union said. Air Canada pilots will be in a legal strike position as soon as mid-September if no agreement has been reached, per ALPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAir Canada pilots are committed to avoiding a strike and the flight disruptions that would follow, and that\u2019s why we continue to negotiate in good faith,\u201d said Hudy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAir Canada management has the power \u2013 and the resources \u2013 to avoid a strike, flight disruptions, and lasting damage to its brand. All they have to do is recognize the value of their employees.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), which represents the pilots, said 98 percent of members voted in favour of job action, \u201cif necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":289,"featured_media":344613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[99320],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358249","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-airlines","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/358249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/289"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}