CUPE enters arbitration on flight attendant wages with Air Canada

Vancouver, BC--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has begun its first day of arbitration with Air Canada and Arbitrator Paula Knopf to settle wages after flight attendants voted over 99% to reject Air Canada's final wage offer in September 2025.

"These hearings will provide our members an opportunity to hear the facts around what transpired in the negotiations spanning December 2024 to August 2025, and also a sense of what to expect from the process going forward," said Component President Wesley Lesosky.

"It will also give our members an opportunity to hear the extent to which Air Canada values our members and the vital, safety-critical work they do every day."

In August 2025, Air Canada sought and obtained the support of the federal government to strip Air Canada flight attendants of their Charter right to strike for better working conditions. Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau admitted on live television that Air Canada did not make contingency plans for a strike, because they anticipated federal intervention to quash any job action on its behalf.

However, flight attendants defied the federal government's back-to-work order, prompting Air Canada back to the bargaining table where a stronger offer on ground pay was achieved, but Air Canada refused to budge on their previous positions on hourly rates of pay. The parties agreed to move the final question of wages to arbitration.

"The fact that we are here is a testament to the courage of our members," said Lesosky. "We refused to back down when a multi-billion-dollar company and their enforcers in the federal government tried to put their boots on our necks."

"We achieved a better deal because of the bravery of our flight attendants, and we are hopeful we will make our case before the arbitrator that our members deserve better than the poverty wages offered by our employer."