TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE IAMAW
WORKING AT AIR CANADA AND AVEOS
Gantt Chart Meeting
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
District Lodge 140 and representatives from local lodges recently attended a Gantt chart meeting that was to identify the upcoming heavy maintenance events for the first two quarters of 2012. Aveos supplied the union with the 2012 Gantt chart indicating heavy maintenance events from January to August and advised us that, because of the transition and members’ selections, Aveos will be short approximately 240 bodies from now until February.
The union requested a breakdown of these shortfalls, including location, category and classification. We were told that these shortfalls only concerned airframe mechanics and did not include support staff, logistics or back shops.
With the increase of work in February and the continuous workload that will ensue until the summer flying starts, it became very clear to us that Aveos and Air Canada had greatly underestimated the number of bodies.
Given this situation, we asked Aveos if they could finally answer our longstanding question: When will the preferential hiring of our members begin? Aveos informed us that they had to wait for staffing approvals and, for this reason, could not answer us at this time.
Aveos is approximately 240 employees short and still cannot say whether or not they will be hiring? Really?
When asked if they were trying to hire and if they had prepared hiring campaigns and ads, they told us they were working with a recruitment company and had posted ads on their internal web pages. However, they had not placed ads in the newspapers and were not visiting trade schools. Really?
When asked if they intended to continue in the Heavy Maintenance business beyond 2013, their blank stares were followed by one statement: “We don’t know.” NOW they don’t know! Really?
Last year, I had asked Joe Kolshak the same question, who had told me he would get back to me. I am still waiting for a response. I had also asked Antonietta Marro, the Senior Director of Labour Relations, to have Mr. Kolshak or Mr. Canavan call me for the same reason. I haven’t yet received this call.
The representatives of this company come to the union and its membership, asking for productivity improvements and yet, they cannot tell us if the company plans on existing beyond 2013.
Your union has continuously fought to obtain the heavy maintenance work from Air Canada to help Aveos succeed, not for the sake of Aveos but for the sake of our members and yet, we are met with silence.
Really Aveos? Really?
We will pursue this issue at an arbitration hearing on December 7 in Toronto, during which Air Canada will ask for permission to subcontract since Aveos does not have the ability to do Air Canada’s work.
Your District will continue to fight for your jobs. However, our level of frustration is growing as the company’s strategy of not answering questions appears to be their way of doing business.
In solidarity,
Tony Didoshak
General Chairperson, Western Region
