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Everyone has probably wondered, while they’re grooming an aircraft between flights, and not even getting paid to do it, whether this is the norm at other airlines in Canada.

Well, it isn’t. Porter is pretty “unique” in this sense.

At almost every other airline in Canada, grooming is the responsibility of ground crew. It’s not part of the job description for flight attendants – and certainly not one that flight attendants would be doing for free!

Porter recently announced they would be hiring outside contractors to perform grooming on certain aircraft, and on certain routes only. That’s great news for some Porter cabin crew, but it leaves just as many behind.

It’s just a baby step – one that Porter is only taking because they’re feeling the pressure of your collective effort to form a union.

And remember: there’s nothing to guarantee Porter won’t change this practice in the future because, as we know, without a legally-binding contract, anything Porter gives they can also take away.

With a union and a strong collective agreement, Porter flight attendants can level up with other flight attendants across Canada, and focus on our primary responsibility of keeping passengers safe and comfortable on their journey – not grooming.

With a union, we’ll have the power to give ourselves a greater say in what duties we perform at work, and the power to ensure we’re paid for our time at work.

If you’re ready for a greater say in your working conditions, sign your union card today.

If you’ve already signed your card, that’s awesome. Remember: signing your union card is a two-step process. After signing your membership card, the Canada Industrial Relations Board also requires a $5 payment.

 

It’s a cruel reality of the industry: some of the toughest and most important parts of a flight attendant’s job aren’t even paid. Whether it’s doing pre-flight safety checks, assisting passengers with special needs, or dealing with unruly passengers during ground delays – there is so much work that flight attendants are forced to do for free because of an unfair, outdated industry practice.

But being a flight attendant isn’t a volunteer position. In Canada, in 2023, there’s no excuse. If a flight attendant is in uniform, at work, performing work-related duties, they should be getting paid. Full stop.

CUPE’s Airline Division, representing 18,500 flight attendants at nine different airlines, has been standing together to tell the federal government and the airlines themselves that unpaid work won’t fly any more.

In fact, flight attendants represented by CUPE at PasCan have already negotiated strong language into their contract so they’re paid for boarding and delays.

CUPE’s Airline Division also launched a formal petition to the House of Commons in June, which received over 17,000 signatures, calling on the federal government to close loopholes in the Canada Labour Code that allow airlines to exploit their employees and force them to work for free. The federal government has until November 5, 2023 to issue its formal response.

The path to ending unpaid work in this industry won’t be an easy one, but it will surely be easier if we all pull together.

If we stand alone as individuals, this unfair, abusive industry practice may never end.

But with CUPE, we’ll be part of a strong group of flight attendant unions, and together we will end unpaid work in our industry.

Sign your card today to join CUPE, Canada’s flight attendant union.

You might have noticed we were briefly absent from the tunnel at YTZ over the past month. The airport authority – wrongfully – tried to prevent our team from talking to Porter cabin crew about our organizing drive and how CUPE has made life better for flight attendants across the industry. But we stood our ground, won the day – and now we’re back!

You might be wondering how can joining a union really change your day-to-day, so today we’re bringing you a “greatest hits” of CUPE’s wins for flight attendants in Canada in recent years. Take a look.

• CUPE set the standard for maximum duty day at 14 hours, with significant monetary premiums hours worked beyond 14. CUPE also set the standard for minimum crew rest home and when away from base.
• CUPE pushed back against restrictive and often discriminatory uniform and grooming policies that forced female members to wear high-heels, and barred members from having dreadlocks or visible tattoos. CUPE also won the right for members to wear henna tattoos and poppies for Remembrance Day on the job.
• At the outset of the pandemic, CUPE health and safety committees fought for and won changes to inflight service and access to proper PPE to keep members safe on the job.
• When the pandemic shook our industry, CUPE ensured thousands of furloughed members were still getting a paycheque – whether through the federal CEWS program, or through agreements to redeploy flight attendants to support immunization clinics. CUPE also ensured members who were sick or quarantined were being paid.

And there’s lots more. As members of Canada’s flight attendant union, Porter cabin crew will have the opportunity to make important changes in the workplace, and change this entire industry for the better.

If you haven’t already signed your card to join your union, go to https://porter.cupe.ca/sign-a-card/.

If there’s anything we’ve learned this past week, it’s that Porter can make changes to our working conditions whenever they want – to make them better, or worse.

By now, you’ve probably seen the news that Porter will be making significant changes to our working conditions.

We’ve already heard serious concerns from many of you about the new 24-hour reserve policy, which could make it very difficult for many of you to manage your work-life balance and hold a second job.

We also know Porter is giving cabin crew in B Scale a nice wage bump. This is great news, and it’s solid proof that our efforts to organize and form a union are already paying off – because there is no chance Porter would be making these kinds of improvements to wages if they weren’t being pressured by our drive for a union.

It also proves that Porter is more than capable of giving its employees a fair wage increase.

But here’s the catch. Without a union (and an enforceable collective agreement), anything Porter gives out today, they can take away tomorrow. That’s just the sad reality.

Employers always float wage increases and new perks when they’re under pressure from union drives, only to claw them back later.

The company is hoping their promise of a wage bump for some employees today will distract from the unfair changes they’re making to the reserve policy and increasing the length of your duty day without a comparable duty premium. WestJet flight attendants, for example, who are represented by CUPE, receive a $200 duty premium for minutes 1-60 beyond a maximum duty period and $400 for minutes 61-120 after that.

Porter talks a lot about how these new changes finally bring the company in line with industry standards. But we don’t want to simply carry on chasing industry standards – we want to set our own, and with a union, we can.

Without a union, Porter can give, but they can also take away.

With a union, Porter won’t be able to make changes to our contract or take away our hard-fought wins arbitrarily. With a union, we’ll have a strong, united voice, and an enforceable contract to protect and advance our working conditions.

Let’s show the company we’re determined to have a voice. If you haven’t already, sign your card today.

And if you have signed your card, encourage your friends and coworkers to sign theirs too!