Despite the big top-line figure, the agreement has faced scrutiny from some pilots, particularly more recent recruits

Air Canada union head says she’ll resign if pilots reject deal

Despite the big top-line figure, the agreement has faced scrutiny from some pilots, particularly more recent recruits

Warnings about resignation by union officials are not unheard of and aim to drive home the merits of a tentative deal, says Michael Bjorge, who teaches history at Dalhousie University with a specialization industrial relations. “Oftentimes in bargaining, especially when people have been at the table for a significant period of time, they just say, ‘this is the best we can get’ and they often honestly believe that,” Bjorge said. “In reality, of course, you never really know what you can get until you push to the maximum.” Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage hike starting in year five. Some employees had been pushing to fully scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision, where earnings stay flat regardless of the type of aircraft flown. (Typically, wages increase with the size of the plane.) But the proposed deal announced on Sept. 15 would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years, according to a copy of the contract obtained by The Canadian Press. Even in years three and four, wages would be substantially lower than in year five. The hourly rate jumps by nearly 40 per cent in the fifth year, a far greater leap than in any other period, the agreement shows.