Fraser Valley Current readers overwhelmingly support Air Canada flight attendants

In Wednesday’s newsletter, the Current sent out a poll asking readers whether or not they supported Air Canada flight attendants’ decision to go on strike. The strike lasted almost three days and made national and international news. It started on August 16 and ended with a tentative agreement on August 19. 

Around 10,000 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) defied a back-to-work order the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) had issued just hours after the strike began. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu invoked section 107 of the Labour Code to order binding arbitration and force the workers to return to work. 

At the time of writing 551 out of 615 votes (89.59%) by Fraser Valley Current readers who responded to the poll said they supported the flight attendants. 

Most of the Current’s readers expressed solidarity with the Air Canada flight attendants, saying that they should be paid for all their work, including work on the ground before and after a flight. Some expressed their support for workers in general, citing the many gains workers have achieved thanks to labour movements in Canada. 

For example, maternity leave came about as a direct result of the labour movement in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1971, the federal government introduced limited maternity leave of 15 weeks. 

Before that, women had to quit their jobs to care for their children or return to work shortly afterward if their families depended on their income. Minimum wage, employment insurance (EI), weekends, the 40-hour workweek, and more are some rights workers acquired thanks to past labour movements.

Below is a selection of reader comments in response to the poll.

Those who said ‘Yes’

“I will generally always side with the workers in any labour dispute. Worker solidarity is our best act of resistance against the growing wealth gap, cost of living crisis and job insecurities we’re facing here in late stage capitalism. Our power as the working class only exists when we’re collectively united.”

“I am a retired teacher who has been on strike 5 times. It is a gut wrenching experience to 'hit the bricks' on a picket line. While most people are supportive (in our case to create better learning conditions for all) others simply don't understand the need for Unionism and its importance in society: I literally have been spat at. The take away from my experiences and those of Air Canada is that if you do not advocate for yourself then those in management will not do so for you. If these flight attendants did not reach a tentative agreement I would tell them to Stay the Course.”

“It’s time for corporate Canada to realize that if they do not treat their employees decently with fair wages and respect, they will not exist. It’s always like that, management forgets that without all the workers and what they do to allow a company to succeed, the business will not remain feasible. No business can exist forever without the frontline workers. It’s also time for workers to stop bowing down to the bullies in this world. Thumbs up for Air Canada flight attendants”

“No pay.. No work... I agree..”

“To hear about how much work they were required to do and how many hours that were all unpaid was crazy. And that the CEO collected $12.08 million for his latest pay check? Surely the company can afford to actually pay their employees for the work they make their employees do.”

“Not impressed by the management for making them put in hours of work with no compensation..they absolutely deserve fair pay for all work performed and not just air time.. shame on the company for forcing that on them all these years ‼️”

“I was unaware the workers only got paid once they were in the air. Reality is stranger than fiction! ”

“Not paying attendants for work done on the ground is criminal. I hope this strike wakes up the whole industry and the public to the use of slavery in airlines”

“High housing costs necessitate higher incomes.”

“They haven’t been on strike for decades”

“I think I said this in a previous email but I am still stunned that flight attendants weren’t getting paid for required work (everything they need to do before the plane starts moving). How did that ever seem okay? I am a casual on-call bus driver and I get paid a half hour before and after my trip for pre and post trip checks and cleaning.”

“I do support people's right to strike. I also believe Air Canada Flight attendants could have handled this a lot better and not decided to go on strike in the middle of August and left so many people stranded. Shame on you! ”

“I realize there is a contract now and employees are back to work. Good for them for taking a strong stand and saying no, they would not be forced back to work, they would rather face jail. Solidarity won the day!”

“They have legitimate concerns. I do think the federal government ordering them back to work put pressure on Air Canada to go back to the table and reach a settlement. The award of arbitration might have been higher. ”

“Nobody in this day and age should be expected to work for nothing. They should be paid as soon as they enter the aircraft, not once the doors are closed and the brakes taken off!”

“It’s disgusting Air Canada makes billions in profits and the people that are the face of the business make 2000 a month before taxes. ”

“It’s ridiculous that they don’t get paid for the entire time they’re at work, whether in the air or on the ground. ”

“Would YOU work for free?”

“The CEO of Air Canada earns over 12 million dollars a year. It’s amazing how much in bonuses he receives a year (included in the $12 mil) considering the airline barely makes a profit. I don’t understand how Air Canada is able to break Canada Labour laws and not pay them for hours worked. Air Canada was quick to state the FA were breaking the law for not returning to their jobs. Like WOW!!! If airlines have special consideration under labor laws that allow them to only pay FA while they are in the air, the law needs to be amended.”

“No one should work for free when their employer is a large corporation.”

“They don't make near enough money for the amount of work they do.”

“I have to admit to having mixed feelings..A LOT of people were inconvenienced, and lost or had to pay a lot of extra money. However, no one should have to work, and not get paid for it. This tentative agreement, just may help others.”

“The workers hold the power, and it is more important for us now than ever to unite as the working class. The CEO of air Canada takes home a whopping 12 million annually, while new flight attendants make 36K…doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where the business is hemorrhaging money.”

“The days of working for free are over!! If anyone asked the ’suits’ if they'd work for free they would just laugh at you and tell you to get out of their offices. Everyone should be compensated for every minute worked.”

“It is shameful not to pay them for ground time on the job, and also to pay them so little for doing such important work, much of it on their feet, possibly in turbulence.”

“It was shocking to learn that all the time spent readying the plane, loading passengers, attending to issues prior to take off and disembarkment was work unpaid to flight attendants. I totally support their strike position.”

“Every good thing we have in our working lives came about through union negotiation. My husband and I were both strong union members and were thankful for the work our unions did to improve our conditions.”

“I don’t believe any companies should expect employees to donate their time! Had I known this was Air Canada's policy I wouldn’t ever consider using them for business or personal trave.l”

“While it is inconvenient to have to deal with cancelled or delayed flights, it is important that flight attendants have the opportunity to voice their frustrations and call for fair wages. The service industry is difficult, whatever service it is that is being provided and too many individuals working in service industries are treated poorly, taken advantage of, and neglected when it comes to a proper living wage and reasonable work conditions. ”

“First, get paid for the hours at work, starting an hour before boarding when you are 'expected' to show up for WORK. Then settle on how much you get paid. If the Liberals make this a condition of paid work, it would finally be fair. And not illegal what the airlines have been doing. Long history with Flight Attendants and the airlines!!!”

“The more I heard about their work realities juxtaposed to Air Canada’s profits, the more I admired the flight attendants for taking a stand.”

“I don't think a CEO should make 13M/yr while the employees are scraping by. I do think the union has been pushing misleading numbers, and the idea that they are unpaid for non flight hours is incorrect. They are paid a base salary, and then additional for every flight hour. So the non flight hour work is covered by the base salary. That said, the base salary is too low!”

“Nobody should be forced to regularly be at work while not being paid anything at all. The idea that FA's were unpaid during boarding and waits between flights is purely to benefit corporate interests and seems akin to slavery rather than employment. I'm shocked to learn that this is the norm within the industry. When the average salary of a junior flight attendant was published to be about $1950/month before taxes something needs to change. I'm happy to hear they were able to get an agreement and get back to work.”

“ ‘Unpaid work’ is one of two things: Volunteering, or slavery. And I’m pretty sure they aren’t volunteering their precious time. That’s fckn outrageous. Stick it to the man, kids 💪✊👊🤘”

“Employees (flight attendants) should be paid from the time they walk into their area of work (the door of the airline), they start work immediately. They start greeting people and give assistance when needed. This time of their routine should not be free.”

“Like many teachers, Air Canada attendants have been called on to provide hours of service for which they were not paid. That is a totally unfair situation, one that should not happen in Canada. Yes, go on strike.”

“Please be more accurate in describing the situation. The flight attendants went on strike, but Air Canada also locked them out. Air Canada's CEO also admitted in an interview that the company was expecting government intervention to end any labour dispute, and planned accordingly (i.e. no contingency plan for a shutdown). Air Canada, not the flight attendants or their union, caused the chaos.”

“I didn’t realize that the flight attendants are not being paid while the plane is still on the ground. No one should be required to do their job and not be paid for it. I don’t generally approve of strikes but in this case it was absolutely necessary.”

“Collective bargaining is the backbone of workers' rights. The deal the Airline finally made could have been made months ago and the whole strike avoided.”

“Only getting paid for part of your actual work day and job requirements is absolutely ridiculous! Shareholders and executive compensation have been on the receiving end of all of that free labour for far too long.”

“Striking is the last resort but a time-honoured way for workers to stand together and achieve better conditions. If ratified, this agreement should help to pave the way for other airlines, not just Canadian ones, to agree to similar fair wages. This unpaid, involuntary situation, of which many flyers were unaware, has gone on for far too long.”

“Unpaid time on the job is wage theft. Flight attendants' job requires time outside of the plane to manage customers and their working environment. They should be paid for that. ”

“These large corporations won’t negotiate at the table because they know they don’t have to. The government will and has always squashed the workers rights with back to work legislation. Now I hope CUPW walks out again so their employees can get a fair deal! And I hope more newspapers tell the workers' side, and not just the corporation's side. There’s always two stories.”

“In Canada, thankfully, we still have the freedom to disagree/protest as long as we do so peacefully. Everyone deserves a living wage and although some of us were inconvenienced, the ones who serve were heard. And! In a timely manner.”

“However, I do not support them ignoring the return to work order.”

“I think management at Air Canada had an idea what the flight attendants were going fight for last year; yet they gave themselves a 10% bonus. From what I understand, that really effected their demands and you could see that by their overwhelming vote to strike.”

“I recently flew from Toronto. My flight waited at the gate after boarding for an hour before moving because of ’weather’. A few people became very upset/worried/scared about the flight as well as connecting flights while ’unpaid’ attendants did a splendid job of allaying fears, offering another flight, etc. They should have been paid for doing an admirable job.”

“Yes, but negotiations between unions and employers MUST improve and when individuals are forced to go on strike by the union mandate the union leaders SHOULD ALSO have their wages restricted during the strike period so that talks progress.”

“Would you work for free and below poverty wages?” 

“Yes, supportive but it did mean my holiday trip to Stratford Ontario did not happen! A victim of the strike when my flight was cancelled.”

“I have volunteered many times to help those less fortunate. But in order to live my life decently for 50 plus years, I never worked for free. Neither should they!”

“Quite simply, it’s illegal to not pay and/or to pay less than the minimum wage employees for work they are required to do. Airlines have been getting away with this for far too long. Of course, they’ll likely use this as an excuse to increase air fares, even though less than 10% of the average plane ticket price actually goes to flight attendants’ wages. Perhaps the next time Air Canada comes to the government with their hand out, they’ll be told to scale back executive compensation, instead.”

“Apparently the Junior members working for Air Canada are only getting $1,900.00 plus dollars and NONE of the employee get paid for pre fight boarding time. I, as a Senior, receive MORE money each month in OAS !!”

“My daughter is a flight attendant so I understand their underlying concerns. For a CEO to earn 12 million dollars per year but not paying employees for hours worked does not look good on Air Canada who professes to be an employer of choice who cares about the social and economic wellbeing of its employees (and customers). I also realize that many travellers were negatively impacted by the strike and understand their frustrations. Sometimes disruption is the price to pay for addressing injustice and inequality. Could this have been handled differently? I think yes. But that would require skilled negotiations on both sides and a commitment to live out Air Canada’s core values. ”

“MOST ARE WOMEN”

“I support them as long as they are reasonable with their requests. No one should have to work for free. I feel very bad for anyone who had their dream trips ruined by this action though.”

Those who said ‘No’ 

“I understand their concerns but there are many other occupations that work many more hours than what they receive pay for and there certainly is no such thing as overtime pay for them. For example, most teachers often spend over $1,000 yearly for classroom supplies for students with no reimbursement for them. School may be only in session with actual teaching occurring 5 hours daily but they spend many more hours preparing lessons, grading assignments, doing supervision during breaks, coaching, etc. Tradespeople have to buy their own supplies and many respond to emergencies when other individuals are in dangerous situations. Doctors or dentists, if they become ill, receive no monies. Unions, originally set up to ensure that workers were not exploited and working conditions were safe have got out of control with their demands.”

“They get other perks like buddy passes … some people would die to have that job sometime they gripe to much and we the customer pays the price”

“We all started somewhere. And the bottom isn’t the best place to be. As an individual who had to re-start a few times in my lifetime, I know that the bottom of the ladder is a hard place to be. Workload doesn’t kill most of the time and while a flight attendant is often a glorified waitress job, to be at the bottom is an incentive to move up. I get the list of the ‘inconveniences of the job’, no one ever lists the perks! I’d like to see them please”

“I agree their paid hours need to be increased, but the sympathy from the public goes down when people can’t get places using the airline. Protest, bring attention to your plight, but do not punish those that keep you in business. Not a good strategy in my opinion.”

“The problems they caused passengers was unacceptable”

“Striking and unions are wrong.”

“The duties have changed. No longer serve meals on most flights. First class only and then only a snack. Not like it used to be. The new generation is different in many ways.”

“I'm in principle opposed to strikes”

“They should have sought a mediator as in my opinion the airlines should be an essential service.”

“The wage they make includes work prior to takeoff and landing. As this is unpredicitble time they are compensated by less hours in flight. Also they make a very very good wage after a few years - up to 80,000 +. more than Teachers. They are not flying the plane, they are service people easily replaced.”

“They are asking for too much money.”

“Strikes are adversarial. Does not create healthy environments. Both sides need to act fairly and bargain honestly.”

“I assume the people who agree with shutting down airlines weren’t part of the group of travelers that were stuck somewhere a great inconvenience and cost. I do not agree with not paying people for work they are doing however they did take the job knowing that this was a condition of employment.”

“People have different lifestyles. Many will have missed their event. We had a non refundable hotel booked. My friend saved for this family trip. No hotel refunds available. There is noone to cover loss of holiday time and non refundable. A strike affects so many people, not just the strikers. Loss of money, loss of complete holiday time. Business losses. When you take an action in life that encroaches on others and their property it’s not acceptable.”

“The government has given them a monopoly, the union should not be able to terrorize the public because of that.”

“They had 8 months to solve this. Yes they need a fair deal and I think it is given. I feel terrible for families whose lives have been affected forever. Imagine not getting to a fathers funeral. I had a personal interest as a granddaughter is getting married at the end of the month and is booked Air Canada. The money spent for an all inclusive in Mexico would have been gone and hard to recreate the honeymoon after the wedding.”

“What other perks are the flight attendants getting? Cupe is very aggressive and one sided. So was your editorial, not neutral and factual as a journalist should be.”

“I think work to rule would have been more effective, and not disrupted essential travel. I think the conditions of their work does need to improve, so I definitely sympathize with that.”