September 18, 2018 at 3:57 PM
Welcome to Getting to Know Your Local, a Unifor Local 2002 newsletter dedicated to bringing you information about our Local and our members. For the month of
September, we are featuring the following three units:
- First Air
- Perimeter Aviation LP – Flight Attendants
- ASP Security Services
First Air (Northern Canada, Ottawa, Western and Eastern Arctic) Districts #’s 251, 253 and 352:
Our Unifor 2002 members are employed in Ottawa, Yellowknife, Iqauilt, and in the Western and Eastern Arctic, and Northern Canada. Our members are employed as Customer Service agents (at airports and the Call Centre), as well as, Cargo, Ramp, and Station Attendants.
Customer Service members working at the airports are responsible for ticketing functions, processing of passengers and checked baggage, boarding and deplaning of customers, and assisting passengers with special needs. Members working at the Call Centre handle inbound calls provide information regarding flights, fares, destinations, and other travel products.
Our cargo, ramp and station attendants work at airports building and expediting cargo shipments to the Northern communities, they also perform functions such as marshaling of aircraft, towing of aircraft, unloading of passenger baggage and cargo equipment.
First Air is headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, it operates to 35 communities in Nunavut, Nunavik, and the Northwest Territories. The airline was founded by Canadian aviation pioneer
Russel (Russ) Bradley and started operations as Bradley Air Services in 1946 and is still registered under that name. First Air started scheduled operations in 1973, between Ottawa and North Bay.
First Air is wholly owned by the Inuit people of Quebec through the Makivik Corporation, which purchased the company in 1990. First Air members have been with our Local for over 20 years, and we currently represent approximately 375 members.
Perimeter Aviation LP (Winnipeg and Thompson) District #298
We represent Flights Attendants at Perimeter who are the airline ambassadors of safety and customer service onboard for Perimeter. These flight attendant’s work onboard the Dash-8 100’s (up to 37 passengers per flight) and on the Dash-8 300’s (up to 50 passengers per flight) aircraft. Perimeter was established in 1960 by
William J. Wehrle. Perimeter currently offers scheduled, charter, and medevac services and provides scheduled services to 23 destinations spanning Manitoba and North Western Ontario. Perimeter is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In 2017, Perimeter’s parent company -
Exchange Income Corporation decided to merge Perimeter Aviation and Bearskin Airlines. Pending approval for a single operating certificate, the merger is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. This merger once finalized, will allow for greater expansion and service into select markets in northwestern Ontario that is generally under-served, this includes, Thunder Bay, and the First Nations communities north of Sioux Lookout. Local 2002 currently represents over 30 flight attendants at Perimeter.
ASP Security Services (Toronto) District #356:
Members at ASP perform security-related functions at airport entrances throughout Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. Members provide terminal access control, door patrol, airside access, pass control, and emergency services. Members also work as Canine security specialists responding to security calls for explosive detection and other related security concerns.
Unifor also represents Operational Support Representatives (OSRs) who are the “first point of contact” for passengers. OSR’s also provide passenger flow, queue management and access control into various areas of the Terminals at Toronto Pearson International Airport. We represent approximately 650 members at ASP.
