August 2, 2018 at 9:00 PM
Unifor Local 2002 would like to provide some updates on the status of the new collective bargaining agreement which was ratified on July 5, 2018.
CONTRACT STATUS & UNION POSITIONS
Since ratification, a number of administrative issues have arisen which are currently being dealt with behind the scenes. Your contract requires editorial work such as inserting the new wage rate, monthly guarantee of hours, editing of grammar and spelling, formatting, etc., all of which has to be done prior to sending the agreement to print production. This process is taking longer than expected due a number of people who are either unavailable due to prior work-related commitments, or away on vacation.
Once we are able to finalize the new collective agreement, we will be posting for nominations for the positions of District Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Health and Safety Representative. Following these elections, Unifor will begin to train the successful candidates. These representatives will work closely with me as we deal with matters that arise during the term of the agreement.
MEMBERSHIP INQUIRIES
I would like to take this opportunity to comment and clarify a couple of issues from the email sent from Brent Bowyer to all Pilots on July 16, 2018. The third paragraph of the email states:
"With the above in mind, and recognition the contract has been ratified, the next heavy lift is implementation. All ratified contracts come with an implementation period; ours is no different. Our support staff have been inundated with individual requests for immediate reconciliation of overtime, back pay, GDO’s etc. I kindly ask these queries cease while the Company and the Union work together on contract implementation."
The last line of Mr. Bowyer’s email requests that you cease with these types of inquiries during the implementation stage of the new agreement. As per Article 9 of your new contract (Grievance / Arbitration Procedure), the language is very clear. I strongly suggest that you continue to flag any and all concerns you may have with regards to an interpretation, application, administration, or alleged violation of the collective agreement.
YOUR RIGHTS
It is your right and responsibility as a member of this bargaining unit to ensure that you discuss any issue(s) “as soon as reasonably possible” with management. Brining an issue forward well after you became aware of it may be problematic. There may be additional time needed on the company’s part as they continue to implement the new contract into their systems, but continue to flag the issues to management as they become known.
The fourth paragraph of Mr. Bowyer’s email references aspects of the agreement that is ‘not retroactive.’ Unifor disagrees with this statement. We have emails that unequivocally state that the Unifor-Flair Airlines collective bargaining agreement as a whole is retroactive to June 15, 2018. That is why we stated in our communique to you on July 3, 2018, “We have also been able to negotiate that the entire agreement including wages is retroactive as of June 15, 2018.” This information was clearly articulated during the two ratification meetings held on July 4, 2018.
SENIORITY LIST
Finally, we are working with the Company to introduce the changes we made to the seniority list. The bargaining committee conducted a random draw in the presence of the Company and the Conciliator for four groups of members who have the same seniority date. The members impacted in that draw hold a seniority of:
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September 9, 2011
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February 1, 2013
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January 1, 2014
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August 8, 2016
The company has been provided the sequential order for those members having the above seniority date(s). Once the company has imputed the information on to the seniority list we will distribute a new list immediately.
Unifor will continue to keep you updated as issues arise. To keep you apprised of any new developments, please ensure that you have subscribed to Unifor 2002’s e-news service at unifor2002.org.
In solidarity,
Ashley Watkins
Assistant to the President
Unifor Local 2002
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