As an update to a news report we made in our newsletter of March 3 (Air Canada Pilots Union Energized), the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) has reached a tentative agreement in principle for a merger with the Air Line Pilots Union (ALPA), a U.S.-based union that represents both Canadian and American pilots. The deal must be voted on by ACPA members and ALPA’s board of directors.
According to ALPA, it represents over 67,000 pilots working for 39 American and Canadian airlines. Among Canadian airlines whose pilots are represented by ALPA are Air Transat, Jazz, First Air, Canadian North, Cargojet and PAL. This development comes after the success ALPA has had winning significantly improved wages and benefits for airlines in the U.S. In the case of Delta Airlines, for example, the union negotiated a 34 percent pay increase over the life of the four-year contract, in addition to improved vacation and benefits. The new rates of pay for Delta pilots are about 45 percent higher than those earned by Air Canada’s pilots.