Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday morning and were almost immediately ordered back to work by the Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families. Even though the strike has been ruled illegal by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the union remains defiant as of this writing.
Flight attendants are usually female and they do not get paid for work performed on the ground. Of course, this state of affairs is ridiculous and has always been ridiculous. But I think climate change and COVID probably have something to do with why the union is now willing to go to battle over “ground pay.”
This is all conjecture and I have no data at my finger tips to point to, although I expect that such data is available. My conjectural argument is that COVID-19 and the associated collapse in public health combined with the worsening effects of climate change have made ground time a much more significant part of a flight attendant’s job.
If the weather is generally predictable and the aircraft are generally in good working order and air traffic control is generally well staffed and crew sickness is generally limited, which means that crews are generally staffed in accordance with a set schedule, then one would expect that time on the ground would be limited and predictable.
Given the twin effects of worsening climate change and the current viral soup in which we all live, none of these elements are predictable any more. Instead, there are umpteenth stories of staffing shortages, mechanical issues (we all remember the plane that came apart in the air), close calls (for example, planes that collide on the ground), emergency evacuations, illness (vomit, diarrhea), and passengers behaving poorly.
Aside from the ongoing enshittification of the working conditions that is fuelling the union's defiance, it should be noted that flight attendants don’t make very much. The CBC article linked to earlier reports that the airline says that their proposed contract would mean that “senior flight attendants would earn $87,000 annually on average by 2027.” That’s not minimum wage but it’s hardly big money.
Air Canada was bailed out by the government at the beginning of the pandemic. The business model of commercial airlines is detrimental to the climate and encourages the spread of viruses. Air Canada pays its CEO a lot of money but is unwilling to pay the people who do some of the toughest work – facing angry customers – for all the time they spend at work.
Carney's decision to force the flight attendants back to work so soon after the strike was declared is dangerous because it potentially infringes on a Charter right. Carney leads a minority government and he should remember that Poilievre was rightfully pilloried when he suggested that he would use the notwithstanding clause. Carney should also remember that he was elected, in part, because Canadians thought he would be a safe pair of hands.
I haven't written because it is difficult to write in the fog of dispair. What is there to write about when all you see around you is impending death?
The world is on fire.
Because I can remember a time when the world was not on fire, it is hard not to grieve. I know I have played my part in creating this hellscape. I know it could have been avoided. But it is too late now. I am here watching, waiting for the catastrophe to arrive at my door.
The parts that haven’t burned yet are dry as bone and ready to come alight. The heat is unending and oppressive even in the dark. Infrastructure is breaking down because of the heat and the all levels of government are silent.
It is difficult to keep count of all the ways that governments are trying to kill us. Death haunts us at every moment. Will I die from heat stroke? Will fire engulf me? Will I be swept away in torrential rains that start with little warning and never seem to end? Will a truck driver drive into me? There are so many terrible ways of dying and no mitigations.
Is it a curse to remember what things were like before? Dare I trust what I think I remember? Did the warm and pleasant days or the fresh rainy days really exist? Why did we treat them like such dross?
One day, I will say the same about today. One day, when electricity cuts because of the heat are no longer notable but commonplace, I will think, why didn’t I enjoy the continuous air conditioning when I had it?
I’ve been thinking about July since Macklemore released Fucked Up:
It’s July and the Americans have just opened a concentration camp that has merch. It’s July and Carney wants to decimate the public service (except for the army, CBSA and the RCMP). It’s July and Canada is on fire. It’s July and ICE continues to kidnap people and deport them to third countries. It's July and Israel continues to kill Palestinians who are desperately looking for food. It’s July and coolness seems a distant memory. There have been so many flash floods. We bake and then we drown and then we bake again.
Climate change is cooking us; it’s sickening, disabling and deathly. The current heatwave has lasted almost a week and won’t break until Friday. The air is dirty; a very fine grey curtain has been drawn over the blue sky and the unrelenting sunshine. Despite the many reasons to wear a mask, most people insist on going about their day barefaced. In North America, we continue to drive our trucks and take our flights. Can't stop, won't stop.
Summer used to be my favourite season. My nostalgia for summers past is imbued with the knowledge that summer, as I knew it, is forever lost. Summer is now baking heat or terrifying storms. I am struggling to come to terms with these new conditions, which I know will only worsen. How can we live like this?
One day, it will be my turn to drown in dirty water or lose consciousness because of the heat. And once swiftly tossed aside, the show will go on because the system consumes as much as it encourages consumption.
Things are accelerating at a clip that makes even simple endeavours feel pointless, which must be the reason why the system is intent on grinding people down as much as it can. Things are falling apart and the way to keep people in line is through fear.