CUPE, Air Canada Head to Arbitration Over Wages

The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has begun arbitration with Air Canada, seeking a resolution on wages after flight attendants overwhelmingly rejected the airline’s final wage offer in September 2025.

According to CUPE, more than 99% of flight attendants voted against the proposal, leading the parties to arbitration before Arbitrator Paula Knopf.

“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 Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE’s Air Canada component.

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“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, CUPE says Air Canada sought and received federal government support to prevent flight attendants from striking. The union alleges this intervention removed their Charter right to strike in pursuit of improved working conditions.

CUPE further claims that Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau acknowledged on live television that the airline had not prepared contingency plans for a strike, citing expectations of federal intervention to stop any job action.

Despite a federal back-to-work order, flight attendants proceeded with job action, which CUPE says forced Air Canada back to the bargaining table. The union reports that this resulted in improvements to ground pay, but says the airline refused to adjust its position on hourly wage rates. As a result, both parties agreed to send the outstanding wage issue 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.”

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“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.”

CUPE represents Air Canada flight attendants through its Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Arbitration hearings are expected to continue as the arbitrator reviews submissions from both sides before issuing a binding decision.

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