TO ALL IAM MEMBERS AIR CANADA TECH-OPS LAT UPSKILLING TRAINING
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As you may have seen, the Company has put out a communication clarifying the LAT 6 and LAT 7 voluntary upskilling
process. The Company is offering LAT’s an opportunity to volunteer to receive training and acquire qualifications in
various skills which will then give you the avenue to maintain LAT 6 and LAT 7 Salary levels beyond the Company’s
promised deadline of March 31, 2026.
Although the Company’s proposal did include language stating that they reserve the right to limit the number of
qualifications at point of base, they have both verbally, and in writing explained that “There will be no limits on the numbe r
of individuals who wish to receive training and advance”. This has proven to not be the case, as the recent Company
clarification email has stated that there will, in fact, be limits placed on qualifications, “Minimum/maximum requirements by
crew and start time for each skill set required for AME 6 and AME 7”.
The Union has reminded the Company, well in advance of this latest email that, as per the Interest Arbitration Award from
the last contract opener, “movement between wage rates must be exercised reasonably and in accordance with the
Collective Agreement”. In scenarios where assigning training to satisfy operational requirements is necessary, it is done in
inverse order of seniority, junior up, from the respective full Category Seniority list. The Company has arbitrarily decided
that after the volunteering process is concluded, if the need to assign training arises, those assignments will be based on
the list of training upskill volunteers only. The Union is completely opposed to this process as it infringes on our members’
rights. Specifically, those that volunteered in good faith. Further to that, the Interest Arbitration Award does not state that
the upskilling of AME’s is for the purpose of filling operational requirements, but simply outlines a pathway by which LAT’s
can attain further qualifications which will in turn afford them a higher level of pay.
The recent clarification email issued by the Company directly contradicts the discussions held between the Union and the
Company on this matter, and the Union believes that this is a deliberate and intentional violation of both the Interest
Arbitration Award as well as the Collective Bargaining Agreement. We will not tolerate this blatant disrespect toward our
membership.
With all the information now available, you can make an informed decision on whether to volunteer for the training. The
choice is entirely yours. However, the Union wants to make it clear that we do not agree with the process outlined by the
Company. This blatant violation of the Interest Arbitration Award and the Collective Bargaining Agreement will be formally
grieved, and we will request an urgent case management call with the Arbitrator.
We remind you that at the request of the Union the Company has agreed to extend the deadline to submit to December
16th.
You can update your selections or resubmit a new form by accessing the original email bulletin. If you make changes, it is
a good idea to keep a copy of your final revised selections.
Please note that the Company is asking ALL eligible LAT’s to complete the form, even if you decide not to volunteer.
This information is needed to help organize the training classes.
In solidarity,
Mahmoud Khatib
General Chairperson
Chris Greniuk
General Chairperson
Jason Jiskra
General Chairperson
Rene Grenon
General Chairperson
Craig Chard
General Chairperson
Rene Grenon
General Chairperson
Chris Lipsit
General Chairperson
