Air Canada Union Boss Says She’ll Quit If Contract Vote Fails

Amid rumblings of discontent among the members, the leader of Air Canada's pilots' union says she'll quit if they reject the tentative contract offer for which she led the negotiations. Charlene Hudy, a Boeing 737 first officer, told fellow pilots in a virtual town hall hosted by the Air Canada unit of the Air Line Pilots Association she would have "no choice" but to resign if they turn the deal down. “If the membership votes no to this (tentative agreement), it would clearly indicate to the public, media, government and company that I no longer speak on your behalf,” she said during a Q and A session whose transcript was obtained by Canadian Press.

Hudy and her negotiating team agreed to a four-year deal with a cumulative 42% wage increase and some pension and working-conditions improvements. The deal was reached within hours of the airline canceling flights in anticipation of a strike. Within hours of the deal announcement, messages began appearing on Air Canada pilot forums criticizing the deal. In the last week new hires, which make up about a third of the membership, have been voicing discontent with the deal, which leaves those with less than four years of seniority with significantly lower pay than those further up the totem pole.