August 7, 2009 at 12:00 PM
AUGUST 7, 2009
Seniority List
The long awaited seniority was released in July and we are asking that everyone be extra vigilant when reviewing it for errors. The latest gross numbers (includes those on leaves or out of scope) show our total membership stands at 967 listed. According to this list, Toronto has surpassed Halifax as the largest base by membership.
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District 711 YVR - 128 listed
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District 712 YYC/YEG/YWG - 152 listed (including Outbases)
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District 713 YXU - 179 listed
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District 714 YUL/YQB/YOW - 141 listed (including Outbases)
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District 715 YHZ - 183 listed
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District 716 YYZ - 184 listed
Capacity Purchase Agreement
July was a big month for Jazz in the media... which is never a good thing. It started off with various news articles speculating on Jazz’s future which were not positive (bad news sells better) and ended up with an amended Jazz Capacity Purchase Agreement that will see reduced flying, a reduced fleet, but no impact to our members.
Bargaining Update
All the major bases had a bargaining update meeting where the membership could get their questions answered. Vancouver’s July 31 meeting marked the end of the Bargaining Committee’s cross country tour.
Strike Vote meetings
The focus of this conference call was to coordinate the upcoming Strike Vote meetings. The goal is to have the strike vote completed by Aug 20. There will be specific dates and times for your base. Please watch for postings in the work place. Tentatively we will be scheduling:
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Halifax Aug 15 & 16
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Montreal Aug 13 & 14
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London Aug 13 & 14
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Toronto Aug 13 & 14
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Calgary Aug 18 & 19
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Vancouver Aug 16 & 17
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Out Bases: TBA
To vote, you must attend. There will not be absentee or proxy voting. In accordance with the CAW bylaws, we will require a 2/3 majority to vote for strike action. The next negotiation dates are scheduled for Aug 10 & 11 in Toronto. The Bargaining Committee will continue to keep the membership updated, so at the time of the strike vote meetings, everyone will have current information.
Many questions have been raised surrounding the possibility of a strike. I will be issuing a Q & A that can be handed out at the upcoming strike vote meetings. I have also received several questions concerning Time Bank withdrawal. If you are planning to empty your time bank before the end of the bargaining process, now might be the best time. The earliest that we could be in a legal strike position is September 3, 2009.
Base Reports
Even though the focus of this conference call centred on the upcoming strike vote meetings, we still had all the bases provide a short report on activities.
- 711 - Vancouver - Tom Troughton, Don Ross
Tom reports that his members are pretty well informed and always eager for new information. There is not much to report on grievances. Recently, the company has been scheduling less work. Is it because they are trying to do a better job planning, or are they scaling back in anticipation of bargaining unrest? The 8 to 8 shift still is and will continue to be an issue until the start and stop times get moved.
- 712 - Calgary/Edmonton/Winnipeg - Peter Brown, Stacey Laliberte, Adrien Lebis
The members there have been kept informed about bargaining and the strike vote. All is quiet otherwise.
- 713 - London - Michel Ruffie, Ian Waite, Jonathan Cristo
Michel reports that time bank requests have been very hard (to nearly impossible) to get approved. There is a new shop position (M) with no start date, but there is still an outstanding issue where someone was displaced years ago. There will soon be an election for a replacement Vice Chairperson. Michel will be on vacation starting August 19.
- 714 - Montreal/QC/Ottawa - Daniel Marion, Roberto Lampasona, Benoit Clermont
Members are eager to get this whole bargaining process completed. The Bargaining Update meeting had positive attendance and members were interested. Our Officers are continuing to ensure that the members stay informed. Patrick is currently away on vacation until Aug 16.
- Tech2 – Roberto reports that even though the bargaining bulletins pertain to all our members, he may resend them in the future through his Tech 2 email distribution list in an effort to ensure that everyone stays connected.
- 715 - Halifax - Patrick McNiven, Jason Bowen, Dave Gylland, Corey Robinson
Jason is back from 5 week hiatus. Everyone here is eagerly awaiting the next step in the bargaining process.
- 716 - Toronto - Ghobud Khorasani, Stewart Warren, Mike Kingston
Things have been pretty steady in Toronto with road trip & OT bypass and CAP issues. Michael Lilly is currently on vacation. Ghobud is researching some carpet cutting contracting-out issues in Toronto. He also reports that the Bargaining Update meeting went well and has been at the hangar to reinforce why we need a strike vote.
In Solidarity,
Don Ross
CAW VP Local 2002
Jazz Technical Services
(800) 932-4564 ext: *5004