Media Advisory: OFL President Sid Ryan to Join Flight Attendant Rally to Call on Air Canada to Share in Economic Recovery

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 20, 2011) - The OFL President Sid Ryan will be joining members of the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) for a pre-strike solidarity rally on Tuesday, September 20, to call on the employer to provide a decent settlement and avoid a strike. The 6,500 flight attendants have been without a contract since March 31 and will be in a legal strike position on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, unless a fair deal is reached by then.

"Air Canada's flight attendants have made tremendous sacrifices over the past 10 years to help the company weather stormy skies and get back to prosperity," said Ryan. "Last year, the airline turned a profit and paid out $4.6 million to CEO Calin Rovinescu, so it is only fair that the flight attendants should get the fair contract that they have been waiting on for so long."

Ryan will speak at the rally and be available for media interviews.

Air Canada flight attendants took a 20 per cent cut in salaries and benefits in 2004 and agreed to a pension moratorium and a cost neutral contract in 2009. Now that the company is turning a profit, they are seeking a fair collective agreement with better working conditions and improved protections for pension funds.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. OFL President Sid Ryan is the voice of Ontario's labour movement.

Visit http://www.accomponent.ca/ for more information.