May 3, 2015 at 8:44 AM
Unifor fights to retain our work and our passengers’ dignity at Air Canada
Local 2002’s fight to protect scope work is sparking workplace actions across Canada. Members are angry that Air Canada is refusing to honour our current scope language and worried about what this blatant lack of respect means for their future.
"Our members are proud of the work they do but they
are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore,” says Local 2002
President Cheryl Robinson. "They’ve had to stand by and watch airline travel
devolve from a full service to a practically self-service industry, all in the
name of profit. And if Air Canada has its way, soon they will offer no service
for our most vulnerable passengers."
Without even waiting for the results of the pending arbitration, the GTAA gave away the special assistance work that our members have done for decades to a third party provider. To add insult to injury, Air Canada has stood idly by, claiming they have no ability to influence the airport authority.
Customer service agents at Pearson are reporting and documenting mass confusion and incredible "botch ups" at flight after flight.
"I met a flight that had a passenger requiring
carry off assistance and the young man and his father had to wait on the
aircraft for over half an hour for help," said one agent, a 30 year employee
with Air Canada. "When the new service provider finally arrived, he had the
wrong equipment. A flight attendant helped to lift the passenger; he was clearly
humiliated, his father was distressed and I was embarrassed. It is terrible to
see people being treated like this."
"This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Unifor
Staff Representative Leslie Dias. "This relentless decline of service and good
jobs affects us all and everyone needs to recognize the long term implications."
Protests go mobile on May Day
Unifor continues to use every opportunity to alert the travelling public about the changes and challenges that they can expect as they try to navigate Canada’s airports, especially if they need special assistance.
At Edmonton International Airport on April 27, over 200 flag flying Unifor activists and allies marched the length of the terminal handing out information leaflets to largely sympathetic passengers about the decline of jobs and services.
On May Day at 13:30, crowds of Air Canada workers in Halifax, St. John’s Newfoundland, Saint John New Brunswick and Montreal were out in force marching to protest the erosion of their scope work and the elimination of 130 good jobs. Agents in Winnipeg reservations, clad in red, stood in solidarity at their work stations at 13:30 EST and later shared a cake emblazoned with the Unifor shield. In Toronto, ice cream trucks pulled up at the departure level at terminal one at 1:30 and hundreds of workers and passengers gathered outside in the sunshine to eat cones and celebrate International Workers Day together.
Arbitration
Unifor is using every legal channel to fight the drive to eliminate our scope work. As a result of the grievance filed in November, the wheelchair work arbitration began April 30 and continues on June 4 and 26.
The union has a strong legal case and history on our side. Past arbitration awards confirm that work relating to special assistance passengers is exclusive Unifor bargaining unit scope work. GTAA’s decision to outsource wheelchair work on May 1, 2015 is a clear attack on settled labour relations resolutions dating back decades.
In the arbitration, Air Canada’s case is centering on claims that the federal government set up the GTAA as a non-profit organization with quasi-governmental powers to essentially dictate the rules, directions, and orders that they see fit. Air Canada claims that their hands are tied and that they have no option but to comply with whatever rules, directions, or orders are handed down.
Strike vote
Air Canada's refusal to protect and support their workers has many of our members wondering what will happen next. On May 11 the 60-day conciliation period initiated by the company will end and the conciliator will file a report to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board. On June 2, following a 21 day "cooling off period" the company can lock out its workers and the union can withdraw its labour.
Going on strike is always a last resort but the issues surrounding job security are paramount and will change the workplace permanently. If these issues are not resolved in the coming weeks then strike votes will soon be taken. Based on the participation and solidarity that our members displayed from coast to coast on International Workers Day, we know that we can count on their continued support.
"We’re drawing a line in the sand with Air Canada
and the GTAA,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "Our members deserve
respect and passengers deserve good service. We will not let this work be
contracted out."