By Gregory Ball
President, Confederation of Canadian Unions
The Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU) stands in full solidarity with the thousands of dedicated Air Canada workers who have received a lockout notice by the company in a disgraceful display of corporate greed and disregard for the people who keep Canada’s national airline running. This lockout threat is not only an attack on the livelihoods of these workers—it is an assault on the rights and dignity of working people throughout the country.
For decades, Air Canada workers have provided world-class service to passengers, maintained the safety and reliability of the airline’s fleet, and represented Canada with pride to travellers around the globe. They have shown loyalty, professionalism, and commitment—often under difficult and stressful conditions, and are the backbone of Air Canada’s operations.
But after nine months of company management delaying at the bargaining table on the fundamental issues – unpaid work and poverty wages – the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), asked for and received an unprecedented 99.7% strike mandate from its membership.
Air Canada responded with a lockout threat. Instead of coming to the bargaining table in good faith to negotiate a fair contract, the company has decided to hold its workers hostage, attempting to force them into accepting concessions and rollbacks that would undermine their wages, benefits, and working conditions.
This shameful tactic is part of a larger pattern we have seen from corporations across Canada in recent years: record profits for shareholders and executives while front-line workers are told to “tighten their belts.”
Air Canada has reported substantial revenues and profitability since the pandemic recovery began. Executive compensation is back to—and in some cases exceeding—pre-pandemic levels. Bonuses are flowing to the top. And yet, the company claims it cannot afford to pay its workers a fair wage or maintain the benefits and conditions they have rightfully earned.
Flight attendants have taken a nine percent cut to their real wages due to inflation since 2015, making Air Canada’s wage offer “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE.
Air Canada’s priority is maximizing profits, not supporting the people whose labour makes those profits possible. Lockouts are a weapon used to try to break the collective strength of workers, to divide and demoralize them. But Air Canada workers are strong, united, and determined to stand up for what they deserve.
This lockout notice was not inevitable. Workers and their unions have repeatedly expressed their willingness to negotiate in good faith. They have made reasonable proposals to address inflation, cost-of-living increases, staffing shortages, and job security. Instead of engaging respectfully, the company has chosen confrontation. It is not the workers who have disrupted operations; it is management. And it is management that must be held accountable for this terrible decision.
The CCU believes that every worker has the right to decent pay, safe working conditions, secure employment, and the ability to retire with dignity. These are not extravagant demands—they are the foundation of a free and democratic society. Air Canada workers are asking for no more than what they have earned through years of hard work, dedication, and service.
In addition to the immediate harm caused to locked-out workers and their families, this lockout will also threaten the broader Canadian economy and the travelling public. Reduced operations will disrupt travel plans, harm tourism, and create uncertainty in a sector that is vital to connecting communities and supporting jobs across the country. The irony is striking: Air Canada markets itself as the carrier that connects Canadians, yet its management is willing to sever the connection with its own employees in the pursuit of greater profit.
That is why solidarity matters. Across the country, unions and working people are rallying in support of Air Canada workers. Messages of solidarity are flooding social media and union members are speaking out. We must continue to amplify these voices, pressure Air Canada to withdraw its lockout notice, and demand that the federal government take a clear stand in defence of workers’ rights.
The CCU is calling on the federal Minister of Jobs and Families, Patty Hajdu, to intervene and insist that Air Canada return to the bargaining table immediately. The federal government must make it clear that lockouts—especially by profitable, publicly traded corporations—are unacceptable. Stronger labour laws are needed to protect workers from being locked out and to ensure that collective bargaining takes place on an even playing field.
The CCU pledges to stand with Air Canada workers for as long as it takes to win a fair deal. We urge every Canadian who believes in fairness, decency, and solidarity to do the same. And to Air Canada management, our message is simple: withdraw the lockout threat now. Return to the table, bargain in good faith, and respect the people who make your airline fly.
Without them, there is no Air Canada.
