Air Canada union head threatens to quit if pilots reject deal

Charlene Hudy told her fellow employees in a virtual townhall Friday that she "will have no choice but to resign" if they vote down the would-be contract.

The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she’ll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.

Charlene Hudy, who chairs the Air Canada contingent of the Air Line Pilots Association, told her fellow employees in a virtual townhall Friday that she “will have no choice but to resign” if they vote down the would-be contract.

“If the membership votes no to this (tentative agreement), it would clearly indicate to the public, media, government and company that I no longer speak on your behalf,” she said in a question-and-answer session that followed the online gathering. The Canadian Press has obtained a copy of her statement and confirmed it with two pilots.

“If I stayed, it would be to your detriment,” Hudy said.

The contract, reached last weekend after more than a year of negotiations, averted a strike that would have seen some 670 flight cancellations and 110,000 passengers affected daily.

The deal would grant the carrier’s 5,400 pilots a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years. The increase outstrips major gains won last year by pilots at the three biggest U.S. airlines, where pay bumps ranged between 34 and 40 per cent — albeit starting from a higher baseline.

Despite the big top-line figure, the agreement has faced scrutiny from some pilots, particularly more recent recruits who are unimpressed with the ongoing pay gap between newer employees and their more experienced colleagues.

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.