Air Transat pilots give union the power to declare a strike

8 months ago 108

The union that represents Air Transat's pilots said on Wednesday that its members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

Vote gives union authority to declare a strike as soon as Dec. 10, but is not a strike notice in itself

Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News

· Posted: Dec 03, 2025 11:29 AM EST | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

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The union that represents Air Transat's pilots said on Wednesday that its members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

While the results give the pilot union's governing body the authority to declare a strike as soon as Dec. 10, it is not in itself an immediate strike notice, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a news release.

Negotiations between ALPA and the airline began in January. A representative for the union said it is seeking a collective agreement that protects job security and improves "working conditions, compensation, and quality of life."

The two parties left conciliation on Nov. 18. They are currently in a 21-day cooling-off period that ends on Dec. 10, according to the union. CBC News reached out to Air Transat for a statement.

“This vote sends an undeniable message to Air Transat management: We are unified, resolute and have earned a contract that reflects today’s industry standards, not the standards from 2015,” said Bradley Small, the chair of the Air Transat ALPA Master Executive Council.

“Let us be clear, we do not want to strike. Our goal remains to reach an equitable agreement at the negotiating table,” said Small, while urging management to "negotiate seriously."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Benchetrit is the senior business writer for CBC News. She writes stories about Canadian economic and consumer issues, and has also recently covered U.S. politics. She was part of the team that won a silver Digital Publishing Award in best news coverage for covering the 2024 U.S. election. A Montrealer based in Toronto, Jenna holds a master's degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. You can reach her at jenna.benchetrit@cbc.ca.

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