The Canadian Union of Public Employees has filed 72-hour strike notice for Local 4060, representing 139 flight attendants who work for ultra-low-cost carrier Flair Airlines. Flair Airlines is an airline based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services in Canada, as well as chartered passenger and cargo services in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean region, and to destinations worldwide from its main base at Edmonton International Airport. The union issued the strike notice following a December 5 mediated session with the employer in which the two sides failed to reach an agreement over outstanding items including wages and pensions as well as time credits/scheduling issues.

“For the past several weeks, this employer has steadfastly refused to step away from its position of two-tier wages and benefits, which is fundamentally unfair,” said CUPE National Representative Gary Yee, who represents CUPE 4060 at the bargaining table. “Flair is transparently engaging in a divide and conquer strategy aimed at driving a wedge between workers in order to compete with other ultra-low-cost carriers. It is completely unfair to pay one group of flight attendants 30 per cent less for doing the same work as other flight attendants.”

Flair bases in Canada are located in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelownaand Abbotsford. Since being organized November 2017, Local 4060 has been in bargaining with the airline for nearly a year. The 72-hour-strike notice expires at midnight on December 10, putting the local in a legal strike position. CUPE 4060’s 139 flight attendants work from bases in Abbotsford, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto. Since the summer of 2018, when Flair shifted its business model from a charter to “ultra low-cost carrier” (ULCC) service, the company has offered regular flights to eight Canadian and six U.S. cities. Since CUPE organized Flair flight attendants in November 2017, Local 4060 has been in bargaining with the airline for nearly a year.