COUNCIL OF UNIONS
CONSEIL DES SYNDICATS
Council of Unions Communication #2 / Conseil des syndicats Communique no. 2
Thursday, July 18, 2019
This message is being distributed on behalf of The Council of Unions. The Council of Unions was established to represent
the interests of the unionized employees of Air Canada during a turbulent time that included pension insolvency. Leaders
from each of Air Canada’s unions – the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA); Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association
(CALDA); Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) – Air Canada Component; the International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace workers (IAMAW); and Unifor – meet to discuss issues of common concern. Together, our
Unions represent 29,000 unionized employees of Air Canada.
2009 Air Canada Share Trust Agreement Update #2
Dear Council of Unions members:
As indicated in our initial correspondence on May 1, 2019, the Council of Unions continues our longstanding
efforts to unlock the value of the Share Trust for our members. At that time, these efforts had culminated in
initial discussions with Air Canada last February to try and negotiate a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
that would allow the Trust to be split into the requisite separate trusts; the Company had yet to respond to
the Council of Unions on whether it would support this initiative.
Since then, the Council of Unions was able to secure a second meeting with the Company on this matter. That
meeting took place on July 10, 2019. As part of those discussions, Air Canada proposed an approach to the
Share Trust with Council of Unions representatives. In short, your Council of Unions representatives have
serious concerns with the Company’s position, and we are in the process of having their views evaluated by
our third-party experts to determine their credence and potential paths forward. The Council of Unions will be
meeting to review the results of this analysis once it is complete.
The Council of Unions shares members’ disappointment in this development, especially given the effort that
has been invested in this initiative to date. We will report back to members via joint communication in the fall.
In solidarity,
Air Canada Pilots Association
Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association
Canadian Union of Public Employees, Air Canada Component
International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers
Unifor
