On 10OCT, Air Canada pilots will finish voting on a tentative deal with AC management. Whether it will be good news or bad news for Canadian travellers nobody knows.
Voting on the tentative deal is expected to wrap up around 10 a.m. on 10OCT, but sources and experts say there’s no guarantee it will pass.
“Based on the people I’ve talked to I expect it to be ratified,” one Air Canada pilot told Open Jaw. “Even people who feel very let down by the TA feel that a ‘no’ vote will just lead to chaos; that there’s no path forward to a better deal during this round of bargaining.
“The people I’ve talked to who are voting ‘no’ are very passionate about their position, but it seems like they’re in the minority,” the pilot said.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation at McGill University, told the Toronto Star that less experienced pilots might not like a deal that seems to help the airline’s most experienced pilots the most. Still, he said he’d be “shocked” if the deal wasn’t approved.
The Air Line Pilots Association’s Air Canada chapter and AC management on 15SEP announced a tentative deal that give pilots a 42% raise over four years. A full 26% raise would come in year one.
But published reports say first-year pilots would start with a salary of less than $80,000, while more experienced pilots flying Air Canada’s bigger planes might pull down more than $350,000.
“Junior pilots didn’t make the pay gains they were expecting, and the quality of life improvements just aren’t there,” the pilot source told Open Jaw last week.
On the surface, a 42% pay hike seems generous. But McMaster University labour studies professor Stephanie Ross said that doesn’t mean Air Canada’s 5,200 pilots will agree.
“Normally, it would be almost unthinkable to imagine this being turned down,” she told the Star. “It’s not unthinkable now.”
If the vote is approved, Canadian travellers will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief. If it’s turned down, it’s not clear what the next steps would be.
“What happens if it doesn’t ratify is anyone’s guess,” the pilot source told Open Jaw. “The head of the union has indicated she’ll resign and I expect there would be chaos in the union with competing voices urging us in different directions.
“From what I understand our strike mandate will still be valid for a few days following the vote as well.”
