As our union drive builds momentum toward the finish line, we’re excited to welcome all Porter cabin crew to a meet-and-greet near YTZ to talk all things Porter and CUPE.

Join us on April 17 from 1300-1600 at the Wheat Sheaf Tavern (667 King Street, Toronto) for snacks and conversation. It will be a great opportunity to come sign your union card, chat with your coworkers, and get your questions answered. If you can’t make it and have questions, we are always happy to hear from you. Get in touch at porter@cupe.ca.

See you there!

“I’m just one person. Will my card even make a difference?” We’ve heard this a few times now. And the answer is always a resounding: YES. 

The wonderful thing about a union is recognizing that we are so much stronger as a collective voice than we are trying to advocate for ourselves alone.  

Every single one of us can play our own small part in making big change at our jobs, and making all of us stronger as whole. 

So why wait? 

Whether it’s a card renewal or signing your card for the very first time – yours could be the card that gets us across the finish line to finally have the fair contract and strong union representation we’ve been working towards. 

Don’t delay – sign your union card today! 

Many of you have reached this week to share how mistakes on this week’s pay are affecting you. We understand how important consistent and reliable pay is, and this can really impact your ability to pay your rent or your mortgage and your bills. It can also take a toll on your ability to take care of yourself and your family, and your mental health as well. 

Workers shouldn’t have to wonder what will happen when their employer makes a mistake on their paycheque. Many CUPE collective agreements have language in place outlining exactly what happens when an employer underpays their workers, with a clear process to make things right . 

With a union, we’ll be able to negotiate our own collective agreement with black and white language on what this process looks like. We shouldn’t be left short-changed on payday, and we shouldn’t have to rely on the good will of our employer to fix their mistakes. 

To learn more, reach out to porter@cupe.ca. 

To sign your card and join our union, click here. 

If you’ve already signed your card – great! Why not share this message with a few friends and colleagues? 

Being called into a performance meeting or a disciplinary meeting is one of the most intimidating experiences we can have as cabin crew.

When we talk to Porter cabin crew about why they want to sign their union card to join CUPE, it’s one of the reasons we hear most often. More and more of you have been reaching out to us lately, sharing stories about how these meetings are affecting you at work.

Receiving a CTT, a PVR, or getting called into a meeting at work can be a stressful situation to handle alone. But with a union, we will never have to face management alone.

With a union, we will have a clear process for disciplinary matters that ensures that these issues are handled fairly and equitably.

With a union, we’ll have a union representative with us to support us, advocate for us, and ensure that we know our rights.

With a union, we’ll get fair treatment and due process every step of the way.

As cabin crew, we spend half our month on the road. For many of us, this means countless stays at airport hotels.

CUPE airline locals across Canada have negotiated contract language with recognized hotel committees. These committees are made up of cabin crew like us who get a say in where we stay. They are tasked with ensuring crew have clean, safe hotel spaces with the necessary amenities to take care of ourselves on the road.

Hotel committees can even advocate for things like complimentary breakfast, discounts at the hotel restaurant, and quieter room blocks. All these things add up to make life away from home a little easier.

CUPE airline locals even have negotiated language about where crews stay on long layovers. Is the layover over 16 hours? Then Air Canada FAs stay downtown.

For WestJet crew, hotels must be a maximum 20-minute drive from the airport, unless the layover is over 18 hours, in which case they stay downtown.

If we’re going to spend hours of our month on the road, we should have a say in where we stay. With our union, we will!

With a union hotel committee, we will be consulted, and we will be part of the process of determining where cabin crew get to cool off after a long day in the air and on the go.

Sign your union card today and let’s get one step closer to forming our own hotel committee.

Aviation safety has been on all of our minds lately. When faced with an emergency, cabin crew are trained to spring into action and respond to ensure that passengers are safe. But when all is said and done, who has our backs?

Whether it’s a decompression, a rapid deplanement, a diversion or – worst case scenario – an evacuation, it’s important that we know someone will support us in the aftermath. CUPE airline locals across Canada have processes in place to support cabin crew in these exact situations.

When unionized flight attendants experience emergency situations at work, union representatives (such as a health and safety representative) will meet the aircraft and ensure that the cabin crew are supported through this experience. Whether it’s helping fill out paperwork, accessing employee assistance programs, ensuring that crew have access to mental health and trauma supports, or ensuring that you are not forced to continue working after a serious incident, your union representatives are there to support you.

Every union local has their own process and we as Porter cabin crew can create one that works for us. As safety professionals we look out for the passengers, and as union members with CUPE, we will look out for one another. It’s a one crew concept – sign your union card today.

It’s that time again! You’re invited to an info session with CUPE to learn more about what it means to be a part of Canada’s largest flight attendant union.

Join us on January 24 at 15:30 ET for an opportunity to learn about CUPE, the process of forming a union for Porter cabin crew, and to get your questions answered.

You can also learn about how you can join the Unify Porter campaign to help make positive change in your workplace. We will also share updates about renewing your union cards!

Contact us at porter@cupe.ca and we’ll send you the Zoom login info!

A question that your union team has been getting a lot lately: when can I talk about the union?

Porter has been telling crew that we are not allowed to talk about forming our union while we are in uniform. This is not correct.

You have a legal right to form a union, and you can talk about the union when you are off the aircraft.

We would encourage you to talk about forming your union when you are off the aircraft, but this does not mean you can’t be in uniform.

The same goes for signing your card. We suggest signing your card when you aren’t on paid hours of work, but this does not stop you from signing your card in the airport. In fact, you can come and chat with our organizers in the airport if you have questions and are ready to sign a card. Follow us on Instagram (@unifyporternow) to find out when we’ll be in the airport or just look for us on your way to or from your pairing.

You can also sign your card online. To set up a time to meet with an organizer please reach out and we would be happy to connect with you! Just shoot us a confidential email at porter@cupe.ca.

As we get closer to forming our union, we can expect the company to step up their efforts to discourage us. But just remember, it is your right to join a union. Together, we will make it happen!

Yesterday, Porter distributed a memo announcing “we will be the first Canadian airline to introduce Pay for Boarding for Cabin Crew, effective January 1, 2025.” Unfortunately, that is not correct. But we are happy to set the record straight!

Cabin crew at Pascan Aviation – who are unionized with CUPE – were actually the first to enjoy paid boarding when they negotiated it into their very first contract after unionizing in 2022.

While Porter is only promising to pay cabin crew for a part for boarding, Pascan flight attendants get their full rate for a full hour for boarding. Pascan flight attendants also negotiated full pay for other ground duties and training.

So, in reality, Porter will not be the first airline to offer Pay for Boarding, and their offer falls far short of the Pay for Boarding that unionized flight attendants already enjoy.

And as you might have noticed, Air Canada flight attendants unionized with CUPE are currently campaigning for full rate of pay for all hours worked in their negotiations that just got under way.

It’s clear: with a union, we will have real power to end the rampant abuse of unpaid work, not just at Porter but across our entire industry.

Meanwhile, it isn’t even clear how this policy will work. Is it full-pay for half an hour? Or is it half-pay for half an hour – in other words, 15 minutes of our regular pay? At the moment, no one seems to know.

But we know one thing: boarding doesn’t take 15 minutes and we are lucky if it only takes 30. Half-pay is just another half-measure, and we are worth more than that.

We can do better than half-measures – and we will, once we have our union.

If you’re ready for the real thing, sign your union card today!

The situation with per diems at Porter has gone from bad to worse. Far too many cabin crew already rely on meal per diems to meet their monthly expenses. The company has been making and breaking promises to match our per diems to US exchange rates for years. Per diem rates themselves haven’t gone up in years, even though inflation has sent the cost of food and incidentals through the roof.

All of this is literally eating into our take-home pay every month. But a union can help.

It’s difficult to find affordable, healthy food away from home – especially when we’re often transiting through airports and airport hotels. It’s especially tough when prices have skyrocketed and our company is offering us the same meal per diem they did long before inflation went sky-high.

We end up paying more for meals because of airport prices – even Tim Horton’s prices are jacked up at the airport. Food restrictions at international borders make it even harder to pack meals for the workday and avoid buying food in inflated US dollars.

We deserve better than struggling just to feed ourselves on the job. Porter flight attendants deserve “best-in-class” working conditions, and that includes meal per diems that keep up with inflation and allow us to stay fed and healthy away from home.

With a union, we can make it happen.

Air Transat flight attendants represented by CUPE negotiated for $5.23/hour in Canada and up to $7.62/hour outside of Canada for meals. That’s more than double what Porter is giving us right now.

Air Canada flight attendants represented by CUPE negotiated their per diems by meal, and are receiving $17.95 for breakfast, $20.33 for lunch, $40.27 for dinner, and $10.53 for snacks. And when they’re working in the United States, those figures are paid in US dollars.

Compare that with the $3.70/hour that Porter is paying us and it’s abundantly clear that we have a lot of ground to make up.

Inflation has taken its toll on our wallets but with a union, we can ensure everyone is keeping their head above-water.

Sign your union card to join CUPE today!