Air Canada to go on Strike.

[silentg]

Air Canada Receives 72-Hour Strike Notice from CUPE and Issues Lockout Notice in Response

Air Canada issues lockout notice to mitigate the strike’s customer impact, allow orderly shutdownAir Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights will be gradually suspended over the next 72 hours; Air Canada Express flights are not affectedCustomers whose flights are cancelled will be notified and can...

www.aircanada.com

If we still were going to Vancouver to get on an Alaska Cruise this would have been us.
We canceled due to my husband’s back injury. Couldn’t foresee this though! Sorry for those impacted.

 

[amycurl]

Note to others: the link is AirCanada’s press release, and nothing in it represents CUPE’s stance.

 

[Soccer Canada]

Please for those that it affects please know your rights based on the APPR (Air Passenger Protection Act)
This website has some really good information thats run by Canada's authority on the subject Dr Gabor Lukacs

Air Passenger Rights

Find out what your flight rights are and how to enforce them. We are volunteers committed to helping you all the way.

airpassengerrights.ca

 

[Luanne]

Have flights to Canada for early September. Hoping this will be resolved soon. Flights were booked with United but 2 out of the 5 legs I'll be flying are on Air Canada, and 3 of the 4 legs my bff is flying are on Air Canada.

 

[easyrider]

I can't blame the employees for going on strike.

Bill

 

[silentg]

I can't blame the employees for going on strike.

Bill

I don’t either.

 

[Chrispee]

Had return flights to Montreal booked for the last week in August. Thankfully Air Canada waived fees for flights up to September 12th and also made it possible to cancel online (despite me booking a non refundable fare). Hopefully the AC flight attendants are able to negotiate a fair deal.

 

[geist1223]

It is ridiculous that Flight Attendants only get paid from the time the Doors close until they doors open after landing. They do not get paid for all the time at the airport getting the plane ready to go or the off boarding time. Not even the time spent if there's an Emergency on the Tarmac. This standard of the airline industry has to change.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

It is ridiculous that Flight Attendants only get paid from the time the Doors close until they doors open after landing. They do not get paid for all the time at the airport getting the plane ready to go or the off boarding time. Not even the time spent if there's an Emergency on the Tarmac. This standard of the airline industry has to change.

That’s crazy. So if there are heavy flight delays the atttendants are just sitting around waiting, not getting paid?

 

[winterski]

I would be surprised if the strike lasts very long. Compulsory arbitration is probably going to happen considering the inability of the number crunchers to alter course.

 

[Luanne]

My flights are Sept 7 and 12, so right now outside the window for changes. United has a link on their site to the Air Canada site where you can check on the strike status. I booked everything through United and used my Chase United credit card, so I am pretty much protected if the flights go sideways. But I really want to take this trip as it's with my bff. We already changed everything once in order to avoid Newark, I hate to think we'd have to change again to another airline. So for now I'll sit tight and hope for the best. And yes, I am in sympathy with the flight attendants and their demands.

 

[geist1223]

That’s crazy. So if there are heavy flight delays the atttendants are just sitting around waiting, not getting paid?

Yes.

 

[TolmiePeak]

It is ridiculous that Flight Attendants only get paid from the time the Doors close until they doors open after landing. They do not get paid for all the time at the airport getting the plane ready to go or the off boarding time. Not even the time spent if there's an Emergency on the Tarmac. This standard of the airline industry has to change.

Agreed. It is slowly changing. The new Alaska contract pays attendants 50% of the standard rate for boarding pay. The Milk Runs between Seattle and Anchorage that make 4 intermediate stops were the worst. You would work upto a 10 hour day and get paid for 4 hours.

 

[jp10558]

Agreed. It is slowly changing. The new Alaska contract pays attendants 50% of the standard rate for boarding pay. The Milk Runs between Seattle and Anchorage that make 4 intermediate stops were the worst. You would work upto a 10 hour day and get paid for 4 hours.

I can't fathom how it isn't just a time clock and you're paid hourly, or a yearly salary. In no way should it matter what the [plane|bus|machine] is or isn't doing, if you're scheduled and there to work you're "on the clock".

 

[1Kflyerguy]

It is ridiculous that Flight Attendants only get paid from the time the Doors close until they doors open after landing. They do not get paid for all the time at the airport getting the plane ready to go or the off boarding time. Not even the time spent if there's an Emergency on the Tarmac. This standard of the airline industry has to change.

Definitely agree, but this has been the industry standard for years... certainly not just an Air Canada issue

 

[TolmiePeak]

I can't fathom how it isn't just a time clock and you're paid hourly, or a yearly salary. In no way should it matter what the [plane|bus|machine] is or isn't doing, if you're scheduled and there to work you're "on the clock".

They only thing I can think of from the airline's perspective is it does encourage the staff to get things moving.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

They only thing I can think of from the airline's perspective is it does encourage the staff to get things moving.

While I don't disagree, more often delays at the gate are not due to crew issues...

 

[Chrispee]

To be fair, the more senior flight attendants are usually pretty content with the current system as they get rewarded with a higher hourly wage and often get to cherry pick the long haul routes that make doors-closed pay lucrative.

 

[am1]

It is all about total compensation. If they get paid for more hours then the hourly wage should go down.

I am against strikes as it costs everyone. If people do not want to work they should submit their resignation papers.

 

[TolmiePeak]

To be fair, the more senior flight attendants are usually pretty content with the current system as they get rewarded with a higher hourly wage and often get to cherry pick the long haul routes that make doors-closed pay lucrative.

Correct. You will rarely see the senior mammas working the milk run.

 

[jp10558]

It is all about total compensation. If they get paid for more hours then the hourly wage should go down.

I am against strikes as it costs everyone. If people do not want to work they should submit their resignation papers.

If everyone quit it'd be just as bad for the company, in many ways I'd guess worse because at least with a strike you could actually treat your employees well in the negotiation and get everyone back quickly. If everyone walked who were going to strike, good luck filling those positions, especially if you need some certification or specific training by regulation or just actual special skills.

Wage theft - not getting paid for time working - at least in the US is nominally illegal and ought to be illegal everywhere IMO. Maybe the airlines should just pay a salary, then they have fixed expenses and the employees know they're getting fixed pay for the year. But if you're paying hourly, you should not get to claim "oh, these hours worked weren't valuable enough to me to pay the employee".

 

[am1]

If everyone quit it'd be just as bad for the company, in many ways I'd guess worse because at least with a strike you could actually treat your employees well in the negotiation and get everyone back quickly. If everyone walked who were going to strike, good luck filling those positions, especially if you need some certification or specific training by regulation or just actual special skills.

Wage theft - not getting paid for time working - at least in the US is nominally illegal and ought to be illegal everywhere IMO. Maybe the airlines should just pay a salary, then they have fixed expenses and the employees know they're getting fixed pay for the year. But if you're paying hourly, you should not get to claim "oh, these hours worked weren't valuable enough to me to pay the employee".

Not everyone striking wants to strike. Not everyone would quit at the same time if that was their option. It is easy to strike when you know your job is safe afterwards.

 

[easyrider]

To be fair, the more senior flight attendants are usually pretty content with the current system as they get rewarded with a higher hourly wage and often get to cherry pick the long haul routes that make doors-closed pay lucrative.

One of my grand daughters won't do the attendant job but loves working for the airline as she gets free flights and can take others with her.

Bill

 

[jp10558]

Not everyone striking wants to strike. Not everyone would quit at the same time if that was their option. It is easy to strike when you know your job is safe afterwards.

I wasn't aware that people can be forced to strike - I thought it was a representative action by the collective bargaining unit. IDK, I can turn it around, you don't have to take a job where you might be asked/required to strike by the group you're a part of. I don't know Canada's rules though, but just like I don't think people should be "allowed" to sell themselves into slavery, I don't think people should be allowed to take jobs where you're regularly working 30+ minutes of unpaid time to get to the "paid part". It's kind of a tragedy that it needs to be a strike vs a simple government enforcement of labor law insisting you are paid while you're required to be on the job or required to be "engaged to wait" - i.e. you can't be getting your hair done, you can't be reading a book, you can't be getting drunk - no you're on site and waiting for a task from your employer.

 

[TolmiePeak]

Not everyone striking wants to strike. Not everyone would quit at the same time if that was their option. It is easy to strike when you know your job is safe afterwards.

Companies could just treat their employees like Costco does. Employees there will never agree to form a union or strike. Neither is needed due to excellent management.