Article content“I think it’s important to show up right here at home.”Article contentShe said they’ve been talking with the Halifax International Airport Authority and the RCMP officer who leads the security detail there about their plans.Article content“We love helping passengers at 36,000 feet, we love helping them on the ground … but we just can’t keep going on the poverty wages and the working conditions.”Article contentWhen she started in the skies, it was a job that would pay the bills, but not any longer.Article content“It was such a good job and I could afford a mortgage and a car payment and do it all on my own but now junior flight attendants are living in their parents’ basements because they can’t afford to survive unless they work two and three jobs.”Article contentArticle contentWhat are flight attendants looking for?Article contentThere are two major issues, Macdonald explained: wages and unpaid work.Article contentStarting flight attendants are making around $1,900 a month, below federal minimums and qualifying for income supports, she said. Article content“We just can’t pay our bills,” she said. “And it’s not like Air Canada can’t afford it — they’ve posted billions of dollars in profits in the last few years. They can pay us more without raising ticket prices.”Article content Twenty Air Canada flight attendants staged a silent protest on Monday, Aug.11 at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport in support of their bargaining team. Photo by ContributedArticle contentThe other issue is that flight attendants do, on average, 35 hours a month of unpaid work. Article contentAll the preparation work for the flight, as well as greeting and seating passengers and the safety briefings are all unpaid.Article content“The door closes and you’ve probably felt the gentle nudge of the plane’s brakes coming off and that’s the moment that we begin getting paid. The same is true when we land.”Article contentWhy is it important to include Halifax?Article contentTwenty flight attendants in Halifax staged a silent protest on Monday at the airport in support of their bargaining team. Macdonald said they received many supportive comments from the travelling public.Article content“They know we’re underpaid and they know how hard we work,” she said.Article contentEven though it’s a national issue, with most eyes trained on Toronto, it’s important to have a presence in Halifax, Macdonald said.Article content“We work here, we live here, we love our passengers from Halifax and other Atlantic Canadian cities. We think it’s important for them to be informed,” she said.Article content“I think it’s important to show up right here at home.”Article content
Air Canada flight attendants to picket at Halifax airport Saturday
