TORONTO — The Air Canada Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) has provided a notice to bargain to Air Canada management.

The union says it is anticipates scheduling its first bargaining meeting with the airline in the coming weeks.

WestJet pilots are also members of ALPA. Last month, WestJet and ALPA reached a tentative consensus on their second collective bargaining agreement, narrowly averting a strike. The deal included a 24% wage increase over four years.

The Air Canada pilots announced their new membership in the ALPA, also last month, and invoked a clause to end its 10-year collective agreement a year early and launch negotiations over a new one.

“Air Canada pilots are fully invested in our company, customers, and our country. We’re proud of the profession we’ve chosen and take very seriously our jobs transporting our passengers safely to their destinations,” said F/O Charlene Hudy, Air Canada MEC chair. “In order to remain competitive in the global economy, Air Canada must address career progression and job security for its pilots, as well as the growing wage gap between the United States and Canada.”

Hudy said the Air Canada pilots “have not been in a meaningful negotiating position since 2014, and in these negotiations, we are striving for a historic contract for our Air Canada pilots to address this growing disparity between the United States and Canada.”