Disgruntled Air Canada workers rally at Pearson

TORONTO, Ont. – Hundreds of disgruntled Air Canada unions rallied at Pearson Airport, Thursday, a day before one of the unions could serve the mandatory 72 hour strike notice.

Nearly 4,000 Air Canada support staff could walk off the job on June 13 should their union not reach an agreement with the airline.

A proposal to change pension plans for new hires is a key issue as Air Canada and its union continue bargaining in Toronto.

The CAW, which represents 3,800 Air Canada customer service and airport workers, says members will convey to management that “enough is enough.”

On Monday, the union representing 6,800 Air Canada flight attendants asked for a federal conciliator to assist in its contract talks with the airline.

CUPE said it filed the request after reaching an impasse with management on several key issues.

Some travellers have already expressed concern that a strike could affect their flights.

“We’ve asked about four different people, and they say ‘oh, you’ll be taken care of’, but nobody gives any specifics as to actually who takes care of us,” said Bren Hilton, who is worried about her upcoming week-long trip to Paris.

However, if bargaining fails, the airline has said it plans to maintain full operations by implementing a contingency service to minimize the impact on customers.

But for Air Canada, that’s not something they believe will become a reality.

“We’re fully confident that we’re going to be able to achieve an agreement without any disruption,” said a spokesman for the airline.

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