CAW members overwhelmingly turn down agreement with Air Canada

It look as if it could be a bumpy ride this year for Air Canada and its unionized employees.

Canadian Auto Workers local 2002 plans a strike vote within weeks after 5,000 of its members who work as customer service and sales agents with the airline overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement.

The CAW says 78 per cent of its members voted against a deal which offered a $1,000 payment in 2010, a 1.5 per cent wage increase in the second year, and a 1.75 per cent increase in the third.

The deal also provided for CAW members in two contact centres in Vancouver and Montreal to remain employees of Air Canada or shift over to Group Aeroplan, which runs the airline's loyalty-points program.

The current agreement runs out at the end of May.

"Frustration over years of concessions, obscene corporate compensation and bleak predictions for the future has left people stressed and angry," the CAW Local 2002 president Leslie Dias wrote in a letter to members.

The letter thanked the membership for its support and says much of the union's anger was directed to the "financial gymnastics" of the airline, its parent company, ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., and their executive teams, including Robert Milton.

The CAW said it would soon meet with its members to come up with priorities for a new round of negotiations, and would hold a strike vote and form a strike committee at that time.

In a statement, Air Canada said it respects the democratic processes of the CAW, and "it is not appropriate to comment further on the union's internal dialogue."

According to the airline, this year, all of its labour contracts are up for renewal.

Just last week, the company announced temporary layoffs of 345 flight attendants.

As demand declines, Air Canada is trimming the number of flights on some routes, and using smaller aircraft on others.

Air Canada currently employs about 26,600 workers across the country.