June 12, 2011 at 11:00 PM
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
As we approach the deadline of June 13th at 23.59 EST. The issues that we outlined in the previous bulletin have changed in some areas. The corporation has started to move off of some of the concessions and we are starting to make minor progress. However, the key issues such as pension, wages, benefits, time off the job remain unresolved. The corporation appears to be determined to force us to destroy our pension plan and we are equally committed to remain steadfast in our position.
To date we have received three global offers from the corporation, the third was presented to the bargaining committee this morning at 09.00. The offer remained riddled with concessions but did provide movement in some areas. It is difficult for us to report on every single issue, as the dynamics of bargaining changes frequently. Although, there appears to be progress in specific areas the facts are, these are tied to company demands. CAW National President Ken Lewenza joined the bargaining committee this morning and delivered a strong message to Air Canada management that the sacrifices are over. The bargaining committee and our members are united and determined. The Air Canada workers have the full support of our 200,000 members across the country.
We continue to argue improvements on economics which include many issues. As our membership is well aware, we have tabled and are serious about trying to recoup what was lost in past years. This will be extremely difficult as the corporation continues to argue that the airline is fragile and was just recently able to gain profitability. Suffice to say, these arguments fall on deaf ears especially when the corporation has compensated Calin Rovinescu with significant bonuses and salary. The bargaining committee does not accept these arguments. It is our members and other workers at Air Canada that have experienced first hand the challenges of the airline and absolutely deserve a fair and equitable collective agreement in this round of bargaining. There are other issues that are difficult and challenging, such as the Jazz work and the Small Bases. The bargaining committee remains determined to protect this work.
Pension Plan
The Corporation’s demands are still on the table which includes a change in the pension formula from 1.9 percent to 1.3 percent and a change in final average earnings from 36 months to 60 months, delay the unreduced early retirement to age 60 and 90 points and a reduction in the joint survivor benefit. We remain steadfast that we are not going to entertain these changes.
The corporation is still demanding that new workers will not be part of the Air Canada defined benefit pension plan.
District Chairs and Vice Presidents
Last night at 19.00 the bargaining committee held a national conference call with the leadership. We updated them on the state of negotiations including a full explanation on the demand by Air Canada on the pension and other issues. The purpose of the conference call was also to deal with the numerous issues and concerns dealing with the protocol on the picket line and the various plans put in place across the country in case there is a dispute on June 13th at 11:59 p.m. EST. A second call is scheduled for this evening at 19.00 in order to keep our leadership updated and aware of the discussions at the bargaining table.
Letters of Support
Since our last bulletin, we have received more letters of support! In addition to these letters, the Canadian Flight Attendant Union, representing Jazz flight attendants, also issued a notice to its members, reminding them that they are not required to cross a legal picket line. The union asked that if members encounter a legal picket line and are refused entry that they do not cross the line and immediately call crew scheduling to request that alternate arrangements be made to get to work.
John Reis, president of CUPE Local 4092, wrote on behalf of his local union to voice his support for CAW members. The following is an excerpt of the letter:
"We wish all our sisters and brothers at CAW strength and resolve in your struggle as you attempt to negotiate a new Collective Agreement with Air Canada. Please know that the nearly 4000 members of Local 4092 stand beside you in unity.” For the full text of the letter, please visit: http://bit.ly/mpnp4q
John Burns, president of CAW Local 100, representing skilled trades workers at VIA Rail and CN Rail wrote on behalf of his local union in support of Air Canada workers. Here is an excerpt of the letter:
Your membership has clearly given enough. It is time for the workers at Air Canada to make gains in recognition of past compromises and for the work and customer service they provide. It is also time for the executives at Air Canada to make compromises by scaling back on their lavish compensation, benefits and lifestyle.” To read the full letter, please visit: http://bit.ly/mclC2x
Barry Kennedy, president of CAW National Council 4000, representing service workers at VIA Rail and CN Rail, also voiced his members support for Air Canada workers. Here is an excerpt of the letter:
"It is most repugnant that Air Canada appears to ignore your past compromises – which have helped restore Air Canada to where it is at today – and expect even more concessions from workers. It is especially abhorrent when you consider what Air Canada executives continued to take at a time when workers were forced to scale back. How shameful! We have read where Air Canada President and CEO Calin Rovinescu received some $4.6 million in compensation in 2010 plus a $5 million retention bonus, and that his defined benefit pension plan is worth $3.1 million. Not bad for a guy who only came onboard in 2009!” To read the full letter, please visit: http://bit.ly/mnTYAt
Editorial Supporting Air Canada Workers
Below you will find an opinion piece by National President Ken Lewenza which explains, in full detail, the reasons why our membership remains frustrated and angry that Air Canada continues to demand more from our workers. The article outlines our determination in bargaining and equally as important makes the arguments that the corporations today have a clear agenda against middle class workers in the country. Please feel free to distribute this in your workplaces.
It is also available for download at: http://www.caw.ca/en/10362.htm
Stormy Skies for Canada's Middle Class
The possible strike at Air Canada reflects a larger tension in our economy.
By Ken Lewenza, CAW National President
The Canadian middle class is in crisis. Each year, its share of our national income shrinks, relative to that of the richest few. Recent reports show Canada’s wealthiest one per cent accounted for 32 per cent of all income growth between 1997 and 2007 – the most in recorded history. Thanks to skyrocketing executive compensation levels and an aggressive attack on well-paid, family-supporting jobs, the gap between the rich and the rest of us grows ever wider.
Nothing epitomizes this situation more than the recent history of Air Canada. In the last decade, Canada's national carrier has suffered unprecedented financial turbulence, including run-ins with bankruptcy protection. According to the Canadian Auto Workers’ internal research, over the same period Air Canada's CEO at the time, Robert Milton, pocketed $86 million – while thousands of front-line employees were forced to take cuts, to the tune of about $10,000 per year, including an erosion of real wages, lost vacation, paid lunch breaks and other benefits.
Air Canada workers made major sacrifices. The company plowed ahead with plans to do more with less. Work intensified and productivity skyrocketed. Measured in seat miles delivered per employee, labour productivity at Air Canada jumped 75 per cent. Yet many who had earned a good (albeit modest) salary saw their quality of life and working conditions decline.
This storyline has played out in too many workplaces across Canada. "Good” jobs are on the wane, in all sectors – whether in factories, service shops, office buildings, or among the professional classes. Many have come to accept the logic that jobs in the "new economy” are inherently insecure. Pension plans exist only in fairy tales, and personal sacrifice has become the new norm. We accept the mantra that the next generation of workers will be worse off, and assume they simply aren’t in a position to demand better.
This attitude must change – for everyone’s benefit. The squeezing out of Canada’s middle class has major implications for our collective prosperity. Middle-class incomes drive economic growth, pay for public services, support healthy families, and build communities. Society cannot subsist on crumbs left over by the rich. Workers cannot accept the logic that relentless cuts and constant sacrifice will bring better days ahead.
Air Canada employees have already drawn a line in the sand during their current contract talks. They’ve resolved to make up ground on lost wages. They’ve rejected a program of two-tiering, which would make second-class workers of future generations. And in a recent show of solidarity, the CAW, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (three unions representing the lion’s share of Air Canada employees) rejected a company proposal to undercut and eventually eliminate the current defined benefit pension plan. By saying "no” to these demands, Air Canada employees are facing down the corporate-led riptide that’s pushing Canada’s middle class to the brink.
With the company’s return to profitability in 2010 and a brighter future on the horizon, Air Canada’s demands for more cuts, fewer full-time jobs, and outsourcing appear baseless. It’s made worse by CEO Calin Rovinescu’s hefty 76 per cent pay hike that landed him $4.55 million in compensation last year, a defined benefit pension that would pay him $351,000 per year at age 65, and a $5 million retention bonus he would be paid just for staying on the job until March 2012. His insistence that workers accept less reeks of hypocrisy.
Not surprisingly, the frustration and anger among Air Canada employees is reaching a breaking point. Demonstrations have been taking place in communities across Canada, with impressive turnouts. CAW members recently voted 98 per cent in favour of strike action, as a last resort. They know that what’s at stake in these negotiations goes far beyond their own self-interest.
Air Canada is recognized as a world-class carrier and has received dozens of awards for quality service, largely because of its hard-working employees. It’s time they receive their fair share.
The Air Canada battle is a principled fight about fairness and justice. It’s about reclaiming workers’ rights to good jobs, as well as our collective ability to demand better from employers and government. It’s about closing that ever-widening wealth gap and strengthening the middle class, for all Canadians.
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In closing, the bargaining committee wants to express its deepest appreciation to Local 2002 members and those across the country that are joining the fight in defence of our members. We ask you once again as we move towards the deadline of June 13th at 23.59 EST do not listen to rumours, innuendos or company propaganda. The leadership at Air Canada, Local 2002, are committed to communicating with members in the workplace. Any questions please contact your District Chair and/or you Vice President. Together in solidarity, we will hopefully not have a dispute and deliver a fair and equitable settlement.
In Solidarity,
Ken Lewenza, National President
Peter Kennedy, National Secretary-Treasurer
Jean-Pierre Fortin, Quebec Director
Paul Janssen
Dave Hoskins
Sylvia Rothlin
Marcel Rondeau
Christa Chaplin
Vicky Xekominos
Jamie Ross, Local 2002 President
Leslie Dias, National Representative
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