As preparations begin for the 2026 Air Canada negotiations, IAM members gathered for a week-long series of training sessions at the William W. Winpisinger Center (W3). IAM Union Canada leaders, General Chairpersons, President and Directing General Chairpersons, International Representatives, and other key officials joined members from Air Transportation to engage in in-depth discussions on the issues that matter most to our members.
It was used as a time to gather all the subcommittees in one place and hear from them directly on issues impacting them. During the sessions, members reviewed surveys, shared their experiences, and identified the key challenges affecting their day-to-day work. Each subcommittee worked intensively to draft proposals on priorities, debating and refining their ideas to ensure they accurately reflected members’ concerns.
While wages, pensions, benefits, and the impact of AI on the jobs, remain key priorities, members were reassured that these issues will be addressed through a separate process. The IAM will be working with its team of professionals, including actuaries for pension matters and legal experts to protect members’ job security, to prepare strong and informed proposals on behalf of members.
The sessions further benefited from the guidance of IAM leaders and experts, including Peter Greenberg, Director of International Affairs, and Tom Regan, Special Assistant to the International President. Regan, who previously served as Airline Coordinator in the United States, shared valuable insights from past negotiations, bringing additional perspective from both sides of the border.
“Our subcommittees worked long days reviewing the surveys, writing and debating their proposals. I am extremely proud of how hard these groups worked and am looking forward to our team getting to the table with Air Canada to address our members’ concerns. Throughout the storied history of Air Canada, it has been crisis after crisis. Our members sacrificed to keep Air Canada operational. It is time our members are rewarded for their sacrifices. We are done waiting.” said David Chartrand, General Vice-President at IAM Union Canada.