The head of Air Canada’s pilots’ union says she will resign if members decide not to approve a tentative deal with the airline.
The announcement raises the stakes as airmen wonder whether to accept big pay increases or negotiate an even tougher deal.
Charlene Hudy, who chairs the Air Canada contingent of the Air Line Pilots Association, told her colleagues during a virtual meeting Friday that she “would have no choice but to resign” if they rejected the potential deal.
“If members vote no to this tentative deal, it would send a clear message to the public, the media, the government and the company that I no longer speak on your behalf,” she said during a question-and-answer session that followed the online meeting. “If I stayed, it would be to your detriment.”
The Canadian Press obtained a copy of his statement to members and confirmed it with two pilots.
The deal, reached last weekend after more than a year of negotiations, averted a strike that would have resulted in the cancellation of 670 flights and the displacement of 110,000 passengers a day.
It would give the carrier’s 5,400 pilots a cumulative pay increase of nearly 42 percent over four years. That increase exceeds the big gains last year for pilots at the three largest U.S. airlines, where pay increases ranged from 34 percent to 40 percent — though demand for departures was higher.
The deal has come under scrutiny from some pilots, particularly new recruits who are unimpressed by the persistent pay gap between new hires and their more experienced colleagues.
Michael Bjorge, who teaches history at Dalhousie University with a specialization in industrial relations, says warnings about resignation are not uncommon and are intended to drive home the merits of a tentative deal.
“Often in negotiations, especially when people have been at the table for a long time, they just say, ‘This is the best we can get,’ and they often honestly believe it,” Bjorge said. “In reality, of course, you never really know what you can get until you push it to the limit.”
Under their current contract, pilots earn significantly less in their first four years with the company before enjoying a big pay increase starting in the fifth year.
Some employees have pushed to completely eliminate the so-called “flat rate” provision, which keeps earnings steady regardless of the type of aircraft flown (generally, salaries increase with the size of the aircraft.) But the proposed deal announced Sept. 15 would only reduce the four-year period of lower pay to two years, according to a copy of the contract obtained by The Canadian Press.
Even in years three and four, wages would be significantly lower than in year five. The hourly rate increases by nearly 40 percent in year five, a much larger increase than in any other period, the agreement says.
Assuming pilots work about 75 hours a month (a common base in the industry), new recruits would earn between $75,700 and $134,000, compared to nearly $187,000 in year five and more than $367,000 for an experienced captain flying a Boeing 777.
Experts say more than a third of the company’s roughly 5,200 active pilots could be earning entry-level salaries following a recent hiring spree. Many of them come on board after long careers at other airlines, rather than straight out of flight school.
Scheduling and quality of life provisions will also be considered by the pilots ahead of the ratification vote, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
“At the time they start working, it’s often the time they have children. So if mom or dad has to be away for long periods of time, it’s really difficult for families,” Professor Bjorge argued.