Air Canada & Jazz: Globalization & Loss of Delta Maintenance Contract

March 12, 2007 at 12:00 AM

Loss of Delta Maintenance Contract shows that Globalization and deregulation does not work for airline employees
 

Air Canada’s announcement that Delta Airlines has canceled their heavy maintenance contract for B767’s was a devastating blow for the 1000 Air Canada Aircraft Technicians performing maintenance work in Vancouver. Seven hundred (700) Technicians represented by the IAMAW will receive layoff notices. Delta is sending the work outside North America.

While Air Canada cannot be blamed for Delta’s decision to off-shore this maintenance work, both the CAW and the IAMAW have concerns about management’s future plans. For example, Air Canada recently purchased an aircraft maintenance facility in Central America and concerns are being expressed by IAM officials about the company’s long term staffing plans. The question is also relevant to CAW members as the Union is currently in arbitration with management over the outsourcing of traditional CAW work to Destina.

 
CAW members based at the Vancouver Operations Centre will be supporting the soon to be laid-off IAM technicians by wearing black arm bands. Arm bands will be supplied by local CAW officers at the locations noted in the Vancouver Aeroplan CIC (102/204).

CAW members across Canada can support the IAM in the following ways:

• The IAM is asking employees to contact their Member of Parliament for a return to a more regulated airline industry. Rather than more outsourcing and off-shoring we need legislation that guarantees Canadians will have a right to work in their own airline industry.

• CAW members can go to the Local 2002 web page and click on the link for Bill C-257, the “Anti-Scab” legislation now before Parliament (www.caw2002tca.ca). At the bottom of the C-257 page click “send an email.” By adding your postal code a copy of the email will be sent to your Member of Parliament. While the form email is about Bill C-257, employees can modify the text to share their concerns about the Vancouver layoffs and ask for a return to a more regulated airline industry. Currently the Conservative government is planning a further deregulation of international travel by negotiating more open skies agreements. Their policy is called ‘Blue Skies.” But if the future is like the past it will not be blue skies for airline employees.

Leslie Dias, President of the CAW’s Airline Division said: “I ask all CAW members in the airline industry to support the IAMAW’s request to contact your Member of Parliament. Citizens are acting all over the world to reverse the pressure that globalization, deregulation and the exporting of jobs puts on the middle class. Success has been achieved in many places such as New Zealand and South America. The IAM and the CAW need your support to make sure success is also achieved in Canada."