Air Canada flight attendants hold controversial wage vote

Vancouver, Canada: Nearly three weeks after flight attendants went on strike against Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada workers are voting on a contract to resolve the dispute, which galvanised the country’s labour movement.

Roughly 10,500 flight attendants launched a three-day strike on August 16, during the country’s peak month for air travel. After a day on picket lines, Ottawa ordered them back to work — but union leaders refused , risking jail and fines.

Now the tentative agreement they reached on August 19 is up for a vote among union members. Voting ends Saturday, and results are expected shortly after.

The dispute is estimated to have cost the airline as much as 300 million Canadian dollars, and cancelled flights for a half-million travellers .

It was the first time any