AIR CANADA PILOTS STRIKE Planes grounded as pilots walk out Complete coverage with links from the Edmonton Journal Air Canada was grounded Wednesday by the first pilots' strike in its history after talks centred on money broke off. The disruption left thousands of passsengers in the lurch. "Flights are cancelled until we are able to negotiate a settlement and we can get the pilots back to work," said Priscille LeBlanc, director of corporate communications for Air Canada. News Chat Strike in the sky How has the Air Canada strike affected you? Any suggestions for travellers? And how about the pilots? Are they justified in taking the strike action in the face of larger Air Canada profits? Or is a $100,000 a year average salary enough for anyone, despite higher salaries south of the border? What's your opinion. Join the discussion. Sun Newspapers Chat Page CNEWS Poll Q1: Air Canada pilots have launched a nation-wide strike leaving many passengers stranded. Should national transportation organizations be deemed "essential services" to prevent work stoppages? Total Votes for this Question: 1084 So far, 54% have voted for Yes. So far, 41% have voted for No. So far, 5% have voted for Don't care. You too can vote in this poll YAHOO!Current News Coverage on Air Canada Strike Tentative deal reached between Air Canada and pilots Air Canada resumes flights as pilots approve contract Thousands of travellers across the country lined up to board Air Canada flights for the first time in almost two weeks after the airline's striking pilots voted overwhelmingly to approve a two-year contract. Flights began to depart less than an hour after the contract approval was announced on Monday. Passengers coming back to Air Canada; Pilots still voting Air Canada faces a long bumpy runway before it can expect to get airborne even though it has reached a tentative agreement with its striking pilots. CBC-TV's National news reported the pilots will get a nine per cent wage increase over two years, less than the 12 per cent they had been seeking and the same amount on the table when talks broke off two weeks ago. Pilot strike seen costing Air Canada C$200 million Air Canada, pilots reach tenative agreement Air Canada and its striking pilots reached a tentative agreement Thursday night, ending a costly nine-day strike that dashed the travel plans of thousands of travellers. "The ratification process is expected to take two to three days as APCA conducts a vote of its members across Canada," said Air Canada spokeswoman Priscille LeBlanc. AIR CANADA PILOTS RECEIVE SUPPORT The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) today announced measures of support received from fellow pilot groups throughout North America and Europe, as well as from major Canadian labour groups. Air Canada strike talks resume, some progress made Air Canada's pilots entered the seventh day of their strike with their planes still on the runways although negotiations began to take off. "There is good progress being made on all kinds of issues," said Pricille Leblanc, an Air Canada spokeswoman. "We're optimistic that we're going to get a settlement." Airline layoff frenzy The long weekend will stretch even longer for 17 laid off Air Canada employees in Saskatoon. But the strike by the airline's pilots is anything but a holiday for front counter workers who remain on the job. "I've worked four of the (strike) days, and they've been the worst days of my 25-year career," said ticket agent Lindsay Pickett, who represents ticket and counter workers for the Canadian Auto Workers union in Saskatoon. No movement on pilots' strike; both sides say they want discussion No formal talks are scheduled between Air Canada and its striking pilots, but both sides say they want talks "as soon as possible." The airline's 2,100 pilots walked out last Tuesday after negotiations reached an impasse. Air Canada shares fly while planes grounded Its planes may be grounded by a strike but Air Canada's stock has gained altitude since its pilots walked off the job Tuesday night. Shares in the Montreal-based carrier (AC/TSE) jumped 50¢ to $7.45 Friday, up from $6.90 when the strike by the 2,100 pilots began. Canadian Airlines still under gun Investors who snapped up shares of Canadian Airlines last week after the start of the Air Canada pilots' strike -- and thereby helped push Canadian's stock up more than 45 per cent -- obviously assumed that Air Canada's woes would help out its competitor. But it's going to take a lot more than a strike at Air Canada to help Canadian out of the hole it's in. For one thing, analysts say Canadian isn't likely to get that much of a boost from the strike because its domestic network can't handle much more traffic than it already carries. As part of the restructuring the airline underwent a couple of years ago, domestic capacity was sacrificed so that Canadian could pursue the more lucrative Asian market. Pilots' strike prompts students to find other routes back to school University students are concocting some elaborate schemes to make their way across the country for the start of classes next week as a pilots' strike grounds all Air Canada flights. Flights in and out of Halifax, Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver are almost booked solid as passengers scramble to find vacant seats on other airlines. Flight attendants to picket with pilots Some of Air Canada's laid-off flight attendants - whose contracts are set to expire Oct. 31 - say they back the pilots and will walk the picket lines with them next week. "We are in solidarity," said Sylvie Lachance-Harrison, president of CUPE's Air Canada component."We have the same kind of workplace. We've all made sacrifices to help the company and everyone believes it's time to be rewarded." AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS SUPPORT AIR CANADA PILOTS The Canadian Air Traffic Control Association (CATCA) announced its support today for the Air Canada Pilots Association, whose members are currently on strike at Air Canada. Dave Lewis, President of the union, stated that, ``The pilots' strike is about respect, or rather the lack of it, from their employer. As fellow licensed professionals in the aviation industry, air traffic controllers can well relate to the frustration the Air Canada pilots feel over attempts by Air Canada to trivialize their contribution to the success of the airline''. Air Canada strike hits services Cara lays off half of its airport staff; retailers hurt Suppliers and spinoff service companies who have seen business disappear because of the Air Canada pilots' strike have begun laying off workers. Airport retailers have also taken a hit -- while cargo airlines have more business than they can handle and are being swamped with requests from regular Air Canada customers. Layoffs loom due to airline strike Air Canada issued layoff notices to some of its more than 10,000 employees Thursday while other airlines were flying high heading into the Labour Day weekend by helping stranded passengers reach their destinations. With the strike by Air Canada's 2,100 pilots in its third day and no talks in sight, other employees braced for layoffs starting as early as midnight tonight. The first workers to be affected will be flight attendants and ground crews. THE AIR ALLIANCE PILOTS DECIDE AGAINST BECOMING POTENTIAL OWNERS The pilots of Air Alliance have voted by a large majority against undertaking any initiative with the potential to buy their company.On June 19, while the pilots and Air Alliance were negotiating, Air Canada announced that it was putting its only Quebec regional airline, Air Alliance, up for sale. "This announcement, as I see it, is without valid justification and is questionable as far as the reasons of the owner, Air Canada, are concerned," says Vincent Charron, chairman of the union. Air Canada pilots willing to talk Talks could soon resume between Air Canada and its 2,100 striking pilots. Both sides indicated willingness yesterday to restart negotiations, which broke down late Tuesday after the pilots refused Air Canada's wage offer. Talks stalled, passengers irate Canadian appears unprepared to pick up slack from rival's strike Air Canada customers in limbo because Calgary carrier has cut domestic routes (opps .EP) Air Canada's loss is others' gain Last Air Canada passenger out of the airport gets the back seat on the bus. More than 60,000 ticket holders grounded by the Air Canada pilots strike scattered on the wind, the rails and the roads Wednesday, with travel businesses predicting the crush would only intensify as the long weekend arrives. Analysts see financial `disaster' for Air Canada Air Canada could cost the company as much as $20-million a day in lost revenue, prompting analysts yesterday to downgrade third-quarter profit expectations and a debt agency to put the airline on credit watch. "I think the third quarter is going to be a disaster," said Jacques Kavafian, who follows the company for HSBC Securities in Toronto, and is one of two analysts to put the sales losses at $20-million a day. Airline stocks gain ground over Air Canada strike Shares of Canada's two major airlines rose on the stock market Wednesday as investors looked for a silver lining in the dark cloud of labor turmoil that has grounded Air Canada. Shares of Canadian Airlines Corp. jumped more than a third in value on the Toronto Stock Exchange after Canada's second-biggest airline began taking on passengers and freight from its bigger strikebound competitor. Air Canada Faces Poor Quarterly Results Air Canada passengers grumpily adjust to pilot strike CALGARY (CP) -- With seat-belts fastened and chairs restored to the upright position, passengers on Air Canada's Tuesday flight to London, England, from Calgary thought they were about to fly away from the airline's pilot strike. But no. Northwest Airlines furloughs first workers in pilots' strike Northwest Airlines laid off 177 workers Tuesday and said many of its 50,000 employees could be next as a strike by pilots reached a fourth day. Spokeswoman Marta Laughlin said 162 dispatchers and 15 meteorologists would be laid off by the end of the day. Northwest put a decision on its other employees on hold until today, she said. The layoffs came before U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater met with Northwest chief executive John Dasburg and union leaders in Washington and urged them to resume negotiations Air Canada struggles to make arrangements for passengers Travel agents are scrambling to find seats for Air Canada passengers who have no choice but to fly Wednesday morning, in the event of a strike that could cripple Canada's largest airline. Talks between the pilots' union and the airline continued Monday in a downtown hotel as a midnight strike deadline approached. Air Canada was also busy making strike plans. Pilots' strike looms in Air Canada dispute Progress was slow Sunday in contract negotiations to keep Air Canada jets in the air, the airline's pilots association said Sunday. With a strike deadline looming at midnight Tuesday night, management and the union continued bargaining under mediator George Adams, a retired judge of the Ontario Court, general division. WInds of economic change blow carriers off course Analysts are not short of explanations for the decline. For a start, the airline business is a cyclical one, and the carriers tend to lead the way into an economic slowdown. In fact, airlines around the world began to see their shares prices falling as far back as last Christmas. Toss in a bear market, the plunging dollar, the chance of company-wide strikes by pilots, flight attendants and maintenance staff at Air Canada, and continuing uncertainty at Canadian Airlines, which is in the middle of a four-year restructuring, and there is little question why the airlines are plunging through their 52-week lows. LABOR STRIFE THREATENS TO SHUT DOWN PEARSON AIRPORT It could be three strikes and you're grounded at Pearson International Airport. Northwest Airlines' pilots are on strike and the carrier has cancelled all flights worldwide, including out of Toronto. Air Canada pilots are in a legal strike position Tuesday at midnight. A strike would shut down all of the airline's flights. No progress was reported during negotiations yesterday. And this past week, support workers at Pearson voted 96.1 per cent in favor of a strike. Airlines in holding pattern Air Canada pilots on picket line MONTREAL (CP) - Air Canada pilots prepared for their threatened strike by marching with picket signs Friday inside the terminal at Dorval Airport. Air Canada, pilots union talks continue Airport workers vote for strike Support workers at Pearson International airport have given their union a strike mandate. The 500 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada perform administrative and technical tasks at the airport. Northwest pilots go on strike US pilots strike shuts down Canadian air service PILOTS OF CANADIAN AIRLINES, NINE OTHERS FORM INTERNATIONAL COALITION At a meeting this week in Tokyo, the chairman of the pilots association at Canadian Airlines joined cockpit crew representatives of nine other air carriers in forming the world's largest international coalition of alliance partner pilots and flight engineers. Canadian Airlines pilots, along with those of British Airways, Qantas, Finnair, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Japan Air Lines, Lan Chile, Argentinean Airline, and American Airlines, signed a Statement of Principles governing relations among alliance partners' cockpit crews. The coalition, representing 17,000 pilots and professional flight engineers, is designed to protect the interests of each carrier's pilots. Pickets to be set up around busiest airports Information picket lines will go up Friday at four of Canada's busiest airports as a strike deadline approaches for pilots of Canada's largest airline. The Air Canada Pilots Association plans to target airports in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Union chief Jean-Marc Belanger warns it will be mayhem for passengers if there's a full-blown strike Tuesday. Inter-Canadien to hire most Air Atlantic workers Inter-Canadien plans to offer jobs to most of the Air Atlantic workers who will be laid off when Canadian Airlines ends its contract with the regional connector. A spokesman for the Montreal-based company said Thursday that Inter-Canadien officials were meeting with representatives of Air Atlantic pilots, flight attendents, ticket agents and groundhandlers. Air Atlantic pilots expressed anger Wednesday after meeting with Inter-Canadien officials, who told them about half of the 118 poilots would be offered continued work. Capt. Jim McMullin, vice-president of the pilots association, said any jobs at another carrier would be junior positions at reduced salaries. The Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents many of the Air Atlantic workers, said Wednesday that Air Atlantic officials told its 110 flight attendants there were only 20 Inter-Canadien positions open to them. Pilots, Air Canada, prepare for strike Air Canada and its 2,100 pilots are resuming negotiations in a last-ditch bid to avoid a strike scheduled to begin Tuesday at midnight. Reservation and travel agents are busy fielding calls from passengers seeking alternate flights. The strike would effectively cripple the airline, just before the busy Labor Day weekend which marks the end of vacations and the resumption of school and university. Air Canada pilots seek allies As they move toward a Sept. 1 strike deadline, Air Canada pilots are courting support in a number of places, including among the country's 2,100 air traffic controllers. <Heavy layoffs expected at Air CANADA At least 150 Air CANADA pilots and flight attendants will lose their jobs following Canadian Airlines' decision to break with the regional carrier. "This is the worst outcome anyone could have expected," Capt. Galen Sokolowski, president of the Air CANADA Pilots Association, said in a release Wednesday, a day after learning the regional carrier will stop flying in October. "One day we are working for a successful regional airline and the next we are scrambling to find a job." Air Canada pilots set strike date Pilots at the nation's largest air carrier have set a strike deadline of midnight Sept. 1. The deadline was announced after the Air Canada Pilots Association and Air Canada left conciliation talks late Tuesday. Air Canada feeder pilots won't help out in case of a strike The pilots at Air Alliance, Air Canada's Quebec feeder, say they will refuse to help the national airline if its pilots go on strike in the next few weeks. Pilots prepare to walk after talks break down Air Canada may be grounded in two to five weeks as sides still `miles apart' Air Canada pilots want injunction Air Canada pilots are turning up the heat in their labor dispute with the country's largest carrier. They announced Thursday they've filed an injunction to force the airline to staff long-haul flights with an extra pilot and are looking to be in a legal strike-lockout position as soon as possible in an effort to force the company to improve its last contract offer. Pilots' union wrings flight concessions from Air Canada Faced with the threat of a court injunction from its pilots' union, Air Canada said it will add to crews or modify schedules on some overseas flights pilots claim are unsafe. After the Air Canada Pilots Association announced the injunction bid to reporters in Toronto and Montreal yesterday, the airline said it would boost crew levels or change schedules and routes to avoid a legal battle. Labor minister considering Air Canada dispute One dispute between Air Canada and its pilots has been settled but the bigger deadlock between the union and the country's largest carrier is in the hands of the federal labor minister. Talks between Air Canada and pilots fail Conciliation talks between Air Canada and its pilots have fallen through, the chairman of the pilots association said Tuesday. "Conciliation failed last night," said Capt. Jean-Marc Belanger. "There has been a request from both parties to get the conciliators to write their report to the minister and to release us. "We're charting a course of action right now," Belanger said in an interview from Toronto.

SETTLED JULY 12
UFCW Local 1118
On Strike against Fletchers Foods, Red Deer, Alberta

Feature on Canadian Airlines Strike 1996

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