‘Time to see a change’: Air Canada flight attendants hold demonstration at YYC Calgary airport

It was the calm before a possible storm on Monday as Air Canada flight attendants held a silent protest ahead of a potential strike that could start this weekend.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the union representing over 10,000 flight attendants nationwide, stretched along the entrance to Air Canada at YYC Calgary International Airport in the early afternoon.

The union says the demonstration aims to raise awareness on the issues behind the possible job action. Similar protests took place in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, in what was being dubbed a ‘National Day of Action.’

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Brittany Thomas has been an Air Canada flight attendant for 23 years and says she and her 400 co-workers based in Calgary struggle with low pay compared to the rising cost of living.

“The cost of groceries, kids activities, school fees, driving, it doesn’t end,” she says. “They need all of the things and on this salary at the top pay scale, it’s not even a comfortable living wage.”

The employees are looking to end what they call “poverty wages,” and also end the longstanding practice of not getting paid for duties such as boarding, deplaning, and pre-flight safety checks. Flight attendants are currently only paid when the plane is moving.

“Going to Vancouver and returning, let’s just say I’m going to go one way there and one way back. It’s approximately an eight-hour day and I would be paid for four hours,” says Thomas.

A union vote, which wrapped last Tuesday, means flight attendants could possibly walk off the job as soon as Aug. 16 at 12:01 a.m. with at least 72 hours’ notice provided.

The two sides have been in contract talks since the beginning of the year and the strike mandate comes after the airline and union concluded a conciliation process without reaching a deal.

The negotiations concern flight attendants working for Air Canada’s main operations, as well as for Air Canada Rouge.

With files from The Canadian Press