Air Canada flight attendants “have reached a tentative agreement […] after a historic struggle.” With these words, CUPE, the union representing the strikers, announced early this morning that a deal had been struck.
“Unpaid work is over,” the statement continued. “We have reclaimed our voice and our power. When our rights were taken away, we stood strong, we fought back—and we secured a tentative agreement that our members can vote on.”
Yvan Perrier, a researcher in labour law and professor of political science, said that “CUPE members showed great courage in deciding to defy the minister’s order.” He reminded that challenging a law or decree, even one contested in court, always carries the risk of sanctions. “There is a presumption of constitutionality that comes with ministerial decisions or laws.”
A CUPE spokesperson confirmed to The North Star that union representatives were meeting with the strikers this afternoon to present the agreement. If accepted, work could gradually resume very soon.
Strong public support
This agreement is likely to be a welcome development for the public, for reasons that go beyond the resumption of flights. A poll by Abacus Data, published on August 15, showed that 88% of people support the strikers’ demands. Nearly 60% went further, agreeing that “the federal government should respect the flight attendants’ right to strike, despite the disruptions this could cause.”
Philippe Soucy, president of the Syndicat des professionnels du Cégep de Saint-Laurent, was downtown Montreal last night, where several hundred people had gathered at the call of the organization Workers’ Alliance in support of the flight attendants.
“We felt it was really important to call on all unions, and also to broaden this to the public. People are behind these workers, and with good reason,” he told The North Star.
He hoped the conflict would end with significant improvements in the flight attendants’ working conditions, something that now seems within reach.
Employer’s strategy defeated
A few hours before the demonstration yesterday, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau told Bloomberg that he expected Ottawa to invoke section 107 of the Labour Code to end the strike, but not that the strikers would openly defy the order.
For Soucy, this was no surprise. He stressed that the state consistently sides with corporations, regardless of the law. In this case, he noted, section 107 allows large companies to avoid negotiations by counting on government intervention. “As for the other unions, we’re here to say no. We won’t let the government dictate to us what to do.”
According to Perrier, this was clearly “a joint strategy between the Ministry of Labour and Air Canada. They absolutely wanted to corner the union and weaken its bargaining power.” But, he added, CUPE had three major advantages: a massive strike vote, members determined to defy the law, and strong public opinion outraged to see workers denied pay.
A precedent
Pierre Wilson, a union delegate with the postal workers’ union, believes the flight attendants have created a crucial precedent: “Often, workers on the shop floor, they’re afraid. They don’t believe in movements like this anymore.”
He noted that the big union struggles of the past and the gains they achieved felt distant after so many back-to-work laws. But things could change: “Somebody had to set the precedent. Now, these folks, they’ve set it… and they’ve come out stronger. I think that among activists, more are now talking about a general strike.”
Perrier agreed: “I think this could indeed have an effect on the activist base. Faced with union leaderships that hesitate to defend their members’ interests all the way, this could give new energy to the grassroots and shake some leaders out of their lethargy—especially those who are timid about defending their members’ interests unconditionally.”