March 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Recently, we have received questions regarding the re-integration of Unifor members working at Aeroplan into the Unifor-Air Canada Mainline collective agreement.
UNDERSTANDING THE PAST
The sale of Aeroplan to Aimia took place in 2009. At that time, Air Canada was facing the possibility of bankruptcy with mounting debt to the pension plans and the economic state of the aviation industry. The work performed by Canadian Auto Workers' Union (CAW) members at the time, was identified as scope work under the collective agreement. The union was involved in ensuring members were not negatively impacted by decisions made by employers and petitioned the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to ensure they were protected as they were now employed by Aimia. Some members chose to stay with Air Canada, while some decided to follow the work to Aimia. The workers remained as CAW members (now Unifor members) in federal jurisdiction and the union negotiated several collective agreements with Aimia, using the Air Canada collective agreement as the foundation.
In 2018, Air Canada announced its intention to repatriate their loyalty program in house. Air Canada, concluded an agreement in principle for the re-acquisition of Aeroplan from Aimia, which was finalized in January of 2019.
With the re-acquisition, it became obvious that eventually there would be only one bargaining unit. The work is Air Canada Mainline work. Aeroplan brought their scope work with them and a protocol was put in place to achieve this. The first stage was that neither party would take any action including not to petition the Canada Industrial Relations Board, (CIRB) to change the bargaining unit structure without the consent of both units until January 1, 2026. Air Canada committed that they would maintain a contact centre at Vancouver and Montreal.
THE FUTURE AS ONE BARGAINING UNIT
Our local has a deep history of mergers and acquisitions in Canada, while it may be a new concept to some members, this is something that is woven into the structure of our local union.
As a result of having experience with many previous mergers, the decision was simple; utilize the dovetail method of integrating seniority lists to welcome Unifor-Aeroplan members back into the Air Canada Mainline bargaining unit. The dovetail method is the fairest way to treat everyone’s experience equally from the point of time they started in the industry. Effective January 1, 2026, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board has once again certified that this work will become scope work under the Unifor-Air Canada Mainline collective agreement. This is a win for everyone. We broaden the scope of work we do in our bargaining unit and Air Canada services its customers as directed by their business model.
In Solidarity,
Your Unifor Bargaining Committee
Astrid Metzler – Chair of the Committee & Western Region Representative
Soppo Gomez-Gnali – Pacific Region Representative
Brett Grassam – Central Region Representative
Eric Bedard – Eastern Region Representative
Cheryl Robinson – Atlantic Region Representative
Jacky Lui – Bargaining Representative
Ross McConkey – Bargaining Representative
Angelina Trignano – Bargaining Representative
Vince De Sua – Bargaining Representative
Tracey Potter – Unifor 2002 Grievance Coordinator
Tammy Moore – Unifor 2002 President
Frances Galambosy – Unifor National Staff Representative
Sandi McManus – Unifor National Aviation Sector Director
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
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26-03-12 Unifor AC bargaining update EN.txt