AirCanada is having labour problems. After unions representing their flight attendants failed to secure a ratified vote on (a second) agreed upon deals with the airline, the attendants were ready to walk. Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to review stalled contract talks at the airline. In so doing, she
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Comments 48
Frankly even the most powerful union, with lily-white intentions and a leadership made up only of perfectly honest people, would have a hard time getting their membership what they want under present conditions.
Also, I note a factual error in your description of Flight Attendant education. Here is a quote from Air Canada's own web page:"To become a Flight Attendant, the candidate undergoes an intensive full time paid training for seven (7) weeks. Training includes pre-course assignments as well as written and ( ... )
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holy fucking shit
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let them work for tips like other servers..
Id rather have no attendants and a $50 discount..
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Regulations can always be changed once a technology has proven to be sound.
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That being said, simply because someone has a PHD doesnt make their value to that job any more significant. Thats a choice that person made to do a job that does not use all of their skills.
Nothing changes the fact that the union and airline agree upon: these people are very easily replaced.
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Flying back from the UK four years ago, the flight attendants were serving coffee and tea. She'd just poured out three cups for the row in front of me, when someone's kid came racing up behind her and smacked right into her.
I took all three cups to my chest and neck.
I'm damn glad that not only did we have airplanes equipped with lovely things like burn gel, but that we had flight attendants who knew how to use them--and that they didn't expect me to give them a tip for the service!
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But there's a difference between someone who instantly knows what to do, where to find the equipment necessary to do it, what steps to take to protect the passenger's safety and dignity while you cut off parts of their clothing, how to identify the precise nature and extent of a burn, which tools to use, how to clean the area, how to best apply the gel, how to dress the area, appropriate after-care (treatment for shock, checking for burns in the throat and mouth, etc.) and how often to re-apply the gel and change the dressing, and someone who has either only been trained as a sky-waitress and who has to constantly flip through a barrage of forms and guidebooks and first aid manuals as she tries to do it all.
It's expensive and difficult to get staff to that level of snap-to-it expertise. Degree, no degree, whatever: once you invest that much in someone's training, it's worth keeping them on.
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A job which also:
- Involves 14 to 20-hour days as a matter of routine, and will fuck with your sleep schedule so much that it will take several years off your life. (No, really, they've done studies.)
- Gives you absolutely no control over any aspect of your workplace. Half of your actions are strictly regulated by international law, while the other half are even more closely monitored by the airline. In many cases, flight attendants aren't even allowed to do trivial things like give a free soft drink to an especially helpful passenger. Every second of your time is managed and controlled by someone else, and even if this forces you to do things you find frustrating or distasteful ("No, sir, you can't have a glass of water to take your pills unless you front me the $2 for a bottle."), you just kind of have to suck it up and ( ... )
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Having a shitty job doesnt necessarily equal a good salary, nor should it be some sort of golden rule. Some shitty jobs get decent pay, others dont. I bet the guy who cleans the toilets at Walmart can fire off some bullet points about his jobs negative points. Or low level employees at any big company.
Nothing changes the fact that these people are 100% completely replaceable. That doesnt mean I hate them, or that they're bad people. Its just supply and demand. Its not realistic to give them a lot of money when the airline can replace anyone displeased with their working conditions.
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And you're right. Flight attendants are 100% completely replaceable. In fact, turnover amongst new flight attendants is a significant problem: turnover within the profession generally is comparatively low (in large part because of those Big Bad Unions), but the newbies get chewed through like hamburger. And every newbie means another two months of training, plus another six to twelve months of junior service. Bearing in mind that it costs about the equivalent of a year's salary to recruit someone to fill a vacant full-time position, the cost of ( ... )
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Its within the rights of the airline to NOT pay them more, and they're free to walk off the job. The cost of training then is shuffled into the cost of doing business.
What exactly is Air Canada doing wrong here?
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When did it become OK to say "We can treat people like dirt, so we should treat people like dirt". When did paying someone a decent wage become objectionable?
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It was sad when milkmen went away, and when the ice truck drivers had to find work elsewhere, but life goes on. Jobs come and go. You cant fault Air Canada for reacting to changing needs, or reacting to the job market.
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