An Air Canada airplane is prepared at dawn for boarding at Pearson International Airport in Toronto March 31, 2015.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
Contract talks have broken off between Air Canada and Unifor, the union that represents ticket agents, customer service representative and sales agents.
The company and the union have been in negotiations since January and no strike vote has been taken.
Unifor wants Air Canada to get involved in a dispute the union is having with Greater Toronto Airport Authority, which is outsourcing work involving assistance to passengers who require wheelchair or other special help. Such a move would mean a pay cut of 50 per cent for about 130 workers, Unifor said.
"The disregard for workers at Air Canada in Toronto is just the beginning or a larger issue of contract flipping that could affect Air Canada members in all locations," Cheryl Robinson, president of Unifor local 2002 said in a statement.
Leslie Dias, Unifor's national representative for the airline industry, said negotiations have not progressed far enough for the union to hold a strike vote yet.