DAYS SINCE WE BEGAN THE BARGAINING PROCESS. WE ARE UNITED AND WE WILL MAKE CHANGE.

Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE)

Lisa Raymond on February 10, 2026

What is it?
Taking on a worldwide industry to advocate for workers is too much for any individual union to do alone.

The GCAQE, a London-based organization, unites various labour unions and like-minded groups worldwide to advocate for improved onboard cabin air quality. It’s a great example of unions doing what they do best: pooling resources to represent, advocate, and defend their members’ health and safety rights.

The Airline Division of CUPE is one of the oldest GCAQE members and played a crucial role in its restructuring and relaunch in 2017. The GCAQE represents over 100,000 cabin and flight crew in North America, as well as unions in Europe and Australia with tens of thousands more members. Some of these include:

  • The Association of Flight Attendants: (FA’s at 20 US carriers, including United, Alaska, Frontier, Spirit and most regional airlines)
  • APFA (AA Fa’s)
  • APA (AA Pilots)

How does it work?
Your union (Airline Division of CUPE) contributes annual dues to the GCAQE, which funds research, industry and regulatory engagement, and informational materials for unions and their members. This work would be impossible for any single union alone.

Why should you care?
The GCAQE’s work is often long-term, behind-the-scenes, and out-of-sight and out-of-mind for the broader membership. But through the GCAQE, our Union is a steadfast supporter and advocate of improvements to cabin air quality.

Check out the GCAQE website HERE to learn more about this important organization.

In solidarity,

Your Air Canada Component of CUPE Health and Safety Committee

Bargaining Committee Update – 70 – Trip Trade Committee

Lisa Raymond on February 10, 2026

As you are aware, during the recent set of negotiations the Union brought forward the need to review and adopt the provisions of the Trip Trade program. As such, Air Canada advised, by way of a letter within the Collective Agreement the following:

Mr. Wesley Lesosky
President
Air Canada Component CUPE
25 Bellfield Road,
Etobicoke, ON
M9W 1E8

Dear Mr. Lesosky:

The letter will confirm the parties’ agreement that after ratification the Company and the Union will meet to discuss possible enhancements to the automated trip trade system.  Any mutually agreed to enhancements shall be developed within the life of this collective agreement.

Once finalized, any mutually agreed to enhancements will be brought to the membership for ratification. 

It is understood that the primary purpose of this system is to facilitate the exchange of pairings. It is also agreed that any such exchanging or dropping of pairings will be at no additional cabin crew cost to the Company. Additionally, all enhancements must be cost neutral and not result in any implementation cost.

The trip trade system will not include open flights that would normally be awarded through the award sequence pursuant to article 7.04, including:

• Pairings not awarded through the PBS system;
• Manning/crewing to load pairings;
• Pairings dropped due to: book offs, long term absences due to illness, no shows, leaves of absence, overprojections, irregular operations, union releases, special assignment, drafts, held out of service, etc.

The system will respect the collective agreement. The specific requirements of the trip trade system will be developed by the Union and the Company in collaboration.

Yours truly,
Giuseppe Morello
Senior Director, Labour Relations

The Union is now looking for members from each local to appoint as a member to the Committee, as well, we will look for a member to sit on the Committee from the Component.

You can see a copy of the mandate HERE.

The Committee will be responsible to build changes it would like to see based on the mandate and the language above. From there, the Committee will present to ACCEX a final report that will be moved to Air Canada for review and agreement.

If you are interested in sitting on the Committee, please submit your name, base and employee number to contact@accomponent.ca. We will compile the list and share with the Local Base presidents, who will select one member to sit on the Committee, and from there Component will select a member, from any base, to also sit on the Committee.

As we are looking to commence this Committee, now that the wage arbitration is complete, we would ask all those interested to reach out by February 20, 2026.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee