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Air Canada pilots set strike
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July 23, 1998: 1:41 p.m. ET
Union members vote for mandate, claim wages are half of U.S. pilots'
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Angered by slow-moving contract negotiations, the union representing Air Canada pilots voted overwhelmingly Thursday to take matters into their own hands.
The Air Canada Pilots Association, with some 2,100 members, voted 97 percent in favor of giving their bargaining committee a strike mandate.
About 1,900 pilots in the Ottawa-based union were eligible to vote. Of those members, the union said 95 percent cast their ballots.
"The result of this vote is clear and unequivocal," said Capt. Jean-Marc Belanger, chair of ACPA's executive council. "We are particularly happy with the high turnout. The vote demonstrates the solidarity of the Air Canada pilots, their support of the association, and their collective resolve to achieve a fair contract."
The pilots are still struggling to work out contracts issues including working conditions and wages. According to the union, Air Canada pilots are among the lowest-paid in the industry, earning 30 percent to 50 percent less than pilots at U.S. airlines.
"We would much rather negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement," Belanger said. "We've said so in the past, and we say so now. But let us be clear. The Air Canada pilots are willing, capable and ready to go out on strike to achieve our goals."
The union is supporting strike action in hopes of bringing Montreal-based Air Canada to the bargaining table. The pilots have been without a contract since April 1.
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