TO ALL IAMAW MEMBERS
AIR CANADA – TMOS YUL MEMBERS CURRENT SITUATION YUL AIRPORT
Dear Brothers & Sisters,
The last few months has brought the new twist that this pandemic has created for our members with a very large difficulty in attracting and retaining new employees. In the last few weeks, this problem has been exacerbated by a very strong uptake in travel demand.
I, along with your Shop Committee Chair, Tom Blackburn and Shop Member, Costa Kripouris, have been trying to strategize new solutions to address the new reality we’ve found ourselves in. Since last December, when the Omicron variant hit us and crippled our operations, our Union has made a point of being forefront in trying to navigate these uncharted waters by calling meetings with our management counterparts. We asked them to explain their staffing deployment needs, so we could offer solutions on how to operate under these grueling conditions.
Locally, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Cargo branch has been forefront in meeting us, explain their needs and have meaningful discussions. This allowed us to jointly develop new ways to conduct business and deal with issues as they arise. Although we have not agreed on everything, the results of this collaborative approach have clearly yielded positive results to the benefit of both parties. Unfortunately, for the Airports and CEQ Resource Deployment teams, little has come about in change. The Shop Committee and myself have had several meetings and put several propositions forward over the past months. No answers nor counterproposals have been made by management to us to try and address our new reality.
In the past three (3) days we saw management invoke forced overtime clauses in our contract to stave off several flights from being cancelled. The Union vehemently objects using these clauses in our contract to limp the operation forward. Forcing overtime is not a sustainable plan for our summer operation and will only lead to other serious problems down the line. Your Union will be following all appropriate lines of recourse to address the situation.
Lastly, the District 140, along with your local Shop Committee, has and will continue to offer its support and will continue to fight to protect our memberships rights. We are all very proud of the work you have all been able to accomplish with limited resources in these gruesome conditions. We ask that you continue to work with safety first in mind as your health and safety is by far the most important issue we must focus on. We will continue to inform you on the situation as it evolves.
In solidarity,
Guillaume Lingat
General Chairperson
Easter Region
Tom Blackburn
YUL Customer Service
Shop Committee Chair
Costa Kripouris
YUL Customer Service
Shop Committee Member
GL/SCM mdr
BULLETIN NO. 025 – ISSUED JULY 5, 2022 PLEASE COPY, POST AND CIRCULATE
