Have you noticed just how many changes Porter has made to our compensation and work rules recently? Since the very first day of our union drive, the company has suddenly become very concerned with keeping cabin crew happy.

As cabin crew, we love our jobs. But we believe things can always be better. The company disputed that notion in a recent email. They say there’s no guarantee a union will make our jobs better, but to that say we say: it already has! Our union drive has already proven that collective action can and will make positive changes in our jobs.

We don’t even have a union yet, and the company is already responding to pressure from our union drive and our growing collective strength with positive changes to our pay and our working conditions.

As cabin crew, we have so much more power to improve our compensation and our work rules when we work together.  Here’s proof our union drive is already working:

• Last summer, we started talking about ending unfair two-tier wage scales that force junior employees to do the same work as their colleagues for significantly less pay. Shortly thereafter, Porter removed the B-scale.
• With its Unpaid Work Won’t Fly campaign, CUPE’s airline division has been lobbying the federal government to change the federal labour code to ban unpaid work in our industry, and fully pay flight attendants for all hours worked. Our union drive has also been highlighting this unfair practice in our industry. And on the very same day legislation was tabled in the House of Commons to make the changes we’ve been fighting for, Porter announced they will start half-pay for boarding next year. Once again, the company is playing catch-up with half-measures.
• In January, the company abruptly implemented its 24-hour reserve policy, which had a major negative impact on the ability of many cabin crew to keep a predictable schedule and maintain our other commitments in life. Our union drive took aim at these unfair measures, and the company repealed them last week.
• In past years Porter has consistently used smaller carriers with lower wages for benchmarking. But in the year the company is facing a union drive that is calling on them to start using Air Canada and Air Transat (who have negotiated the highest wages in the industry through CUPE) as comparators on wages, the company started using those airlines for benchmarking.

These aren’t just happy coincidences. This is hard proof that our union drive is already working in our collective favour, and proof that things can only get better from here.

If we can accomplish all of these changes together before we have even certified our union, imagine everything we could achieve with a real union and a real contract.

Think about all the positive changes we could make to keep on improving not just our wages and our work rules, but our per diems, our sick days, our representation in disciplinary meetings, and so much more.

We love our jobs, and by signing a union card, you’re joining hundreds of your coworkers in signing up for positive change at your job. With the the powerful advocacy and collective efforts of Porter cabin crew, these positive changes that will only continue to grow as our union grows stronger. Sign your union card today.

“Porter’s philosophy is not to be the highest paying flight attendant airline in Canada.”

Those were the words from Porter’s head of People and Culture yesterday during a call with cabin crew about benchmarking – words which your director also happens to agree with.

In fact, this benchmark even exceeded her expectations. But did it exceed yours?

It’s the same sentiment expressed by Kevin Jackson in an email to cabin crew on June 5, when he said Air Canada will always play catchup to Porter, whether it’s the quality-of-service Porter cabin crew provide or the in-flight snacks and beverage service our airline offers to passengers.

But when it comes to our airline valuing and paying its employees, the company’s attitude and approach are clear: they will never even try to catch up to other airlines. In fact, on yesterday’s call, when asked why Porter won’t offer higher wages for Porter cabin crew, in line with what flight attendants earn at Air Canada, the head of People and Culture said that Air Canada flight attendants do more than us.

In the middle of this cost-of-living crisis, when the cost of everything seems to be going up, how do you feel about being valued at 50% when your service expectations are 110%?

How do you feel being told that your service is above and beyond your competitors, but you will never get paid more – or even the same – as them?

How do you feel knowing pilots at Porter are benchmarked at 65%, when we as cabin crew are only benchmarked at 50%?

We think we’re worth more, and we think we deserve better. Together, we can and we will do better.

With a union, we’ll have a real contract that we negotiate with the company, instead of the company picking and choosing elements from other airlines to benchmark when it suits them.

We’re almost there. Signing your union card today will help take us one step closer.

Once enough of us have signed our union cards, the federal labour board will freeze our working conditions until we negotiate our first contract, so the company can’t penalize us for unionizing by taking away our wages and working conditions. Once we have a union, what we have now will be our floor, not a ceiling, and together we can set our sights high to make our jobs even better.

Things can – and should – be a lot better at our jobs. Sign your union card today to help get us there!

There’s a myth out there that Porter cabin crew don’t need a union because they already have the FOAG. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The differences between a union and the FOAG couldn’t be more stark.

Is the FOAG better than absolutely nothing at all? Yes. But is it anywhere close to ensuring Porter cabin crew are respected, well-treated, and listened to? Hard no. We can do so much better.

With FOAG, cabin crew are outnumbered 8-to-5 by company-friendly representatives on the committee who are not looking out for the best interest of cabin crew.

With FOAG, the company can make changes to working conditions at any time, with or without the input of cabin crew.

With the FOAG, there’s a process to hear employee feedback, but no accountability to ensure it’s acted upon – so it’s as if we’re sending emails into the void and hoping for the best.

And with FOAG, everything is non-binding, so the company can pick and choose when it wants to abide by the rules.

It could be so much better for us as cabin crew at Porter.

With a union, we’ll be on equal footing with the company.

Our working conditions will be in black and white, with a contract that the company can only change if we as union members agree.

We’ll have a grievance procedure to ensure our voices are heard.

And our contract will be a binding, legal document – not a pinky swear from the company that they can ignore whenever it’s inconvenient.

If you’re ready to take the next step and make your job even better, sign your union card today!

Parliament Hill was a buzz last week with CUPE flight attendants from nine different airlines engaging in a day of action to raise awareness about unpaid work in the airline industry.

On the eve of International Flight Attendant Day, flight attendants leafletted and talked with morning commuters, held meetings with MPs and Senators from all major parties, and held a news conference with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to take aim at the lack of action from the federal government to remedy the issue of unpaid work.

“Abusive industry practices thrive in the darkness, so we are here to shine a light, so that airline executives can no longer hide in the dark,” said Wesley Lesosky, President of CUPE’s Airline Division.

Our companies may compete against each other for market share, but as flight attendants, we have a lot to gain by working together to improve industry standards. Together, we are changing minds on Parliament Hill and getting that much closer to ending the abuse of unpaid work in our industry. We love our jobs, but we aren’t volunteers!

You can see photos of the day of action here.

If you haven’t already, sign your union card here today!

Porter pilots join cabin crew in journey for union representation

By now you have probably seen the news that a union drive is underway for pilots at Porter, with the Air Line Pilots Association.

It’s an exciting moment, as another key group of workers at Porter begins their journey to form a union and expand their rights at work. We want to congratulate the pilots and wish them the best!

You might be thinking: pilots already have very strong compensation and they received their benchmarking pay raises months ago. But the pilots also understand that things can and should always be better, and getting the respect and the strong voice they deserve at work starts with forming a union.

And it’s the same story for cabin crew.

Like cabin crew, pilots want our company to succeed.

Like cabin crew, pilots have serious concerns about their working conditions.

Like cabin crew, the pilots are looking to strengthen their position with the company.

We don’t have everything in common with pilots – but on the things that really matter, we can gain a lot by supporting each other in our shared goal of better compensation and better working conditions at our airline.

Now, the race is on. Who will be the first group at Porter to certify? Ready, set, go!

Sign your card union card today, and let your friends know you’re signing your card too.

If you’re receiving this message, it’s because there’s a strong chance you’ve already signed your union card to help build a strong union for cabin crew at Porter.

If so, that’s awesome. But the job’s not done yet!

As more and more Porter cabin crew sign their union cards every week, we wanted to send along a few tips and reminders for those long-haulers who might have signed their cards a while back. Here we go…

1. Confirm that you have actually signed your card and paid the federally-mandated $5 CIRB application fee. Email us at porter@cupe.ca to confirm.
2. Bring a plus-one (or two)! Everything’s better when you can bring a friend along, so why not talk to two friends who are thinking about signing their card or who you know have been putting it off. The faster people sign their cards, the sooner we can get to work strengthening our wages and our rights at work.
3. Remember it’s best to sign your card during breaks – not on the aircraft.
4. Know your rights! Federal law protects your right to talk to your coworkers about joining a union (but it’s best to do this on breaks or off the aircraft). Federal law also prohibits your employer from threatening or intimidating any employee who seeks to join or form a union. Contact an organizer at porter@cupe.ca if you believe your employer is threatening or intimidating you or your coworkers.

As always, you can get more info and sign your card at porter.cupe.ca/sign-a-card.

Porter talks a lot about benchmarking and how they work with the FOAG committee. But in reality, changes to our wages and working conditions only happen if and when the company wants them to.

Benchmarking, in other words, is Porter’s practice of picking and choosing items from collective agreements negotiated by flight attendants at other airlines, and selectively applying them at Porter according to what’s best for the company – but not necessarily according to what’s best for cabin crew.

For example, Porter looks to Air Canada to benchmark things like 24-hour reserve, but they would never use Air Canada as a benchmark for wages. (Side note: if Porter is looking for a new benchmark for wages, perhaps they should benchmark Air Transat, where CUPE flight attendants recently negotiated a new starting wage of $39.21 per hour in November 2024.)

What works for cabin crew at other airlines may not work for cabin crew at Porter.

That is precisely why Porter cabin crew need and deserve a collective agreement of our own. We need and deserve to set our own terms, using our own independent research (which we’ll get as part of CUPE, with a dedicated airline sector researcher). We deserve to chart our own path.

Rather than following standards set at other airlines, that the company picks and chooses as it pleases, we should be setting the standard – for ourselves and for our whole industry.

With a union, we can negotiate better wages and a better quality of life.

With a union, we can be industry leaders – instead of industry followers.

Sign your union card today!

Watch this special message for Porter Cabin Crew from CUPE’s National President Mark Hancock.

CUPE has 40 years experience as Canada’s flight attendant union, and together we can make sure that you, the cabin crew who keep this industry in the air, share in your airline’s success and have a stronger say and a bigger paycheck at the end of a long duty day.

Sign your card today!

With so many folks reaching out to learn more about CUPE we thought this would be the perfect time for another info session. You are invited to join us on Zoom April 29th at 13:30EST. We are thrilled that we will be joined by CUPE’s Airline Division President Wesley Lesosky. Wesley is an Air Canada flight attendant, a longstanding leader for flight attendants, and a national voice on ending unpaid work in the airline industry.

This will be 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.

Send us an email at porter@cupe.ca for Zoom login info.

April 29^th, 2024, 13:30EST-15:00 EST