December 12, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The Union is extremely disappointed in the way the company has handled the upcoming shift bid. After our District 364 Shift Committee dedicated more than two full days in developing edits and recommendations aimed at improving the bid for both Full-Time and Part-Time members, the company rejected the majority of our work, citing alleged errors and a lack of notes. Despite assuring us that they would be available, they were unreachable and/or failed to respond to multiple messages during the critical period of finalizing the bid.
Rather than meeting with the Shift Committee to review our proposed changes, the company unilaterally decided – without proper notice to the Union and without any discussion with the committee – to dismiss the majority of our proposals and proceed with their shifts.
This is both upsetting and discouraging to the hard-working members of District 364 at Porter Airlines, Ottawa International Airport. We have received no explanation as to why no meeting was scheduled, or why they made no effort to reach out for clarification. It appears the company had no intention of genuinely considering our proposals, or of fostering a productive working relationship with the Union, something we have been working hard to build for many years in Ottawa.
We are currently reviewing our legal options regarding the reduction in paid hours for Full-Time members. Any reduction to scheduled paid hours has a significant impact on our members, and we fully understand the seriousness of this change. The matter is under review by our National Servicing Representative, Michelle Aruda, and we will share further information as soon as it becomes available.
The leadership of this District remains committed to voicing their frustrations to the company at every opportunity. Scheduling is at the heart of every airline worker’s quality of life, and during collective bargaining we were assured an expert would be brought in by the company to help improve our schedules. This has never materialized. In fact, it has been the Union, not the employer, who arranged for an experienced leader from another workplace within Unifor Local 2002 with extensive scheduling knowledge to assist our Shift Committee. Meanwhile, the company has offered nothing but unanswered questions, broken commitments, and complete silence on our proposed changes until the shift bid was published for members on December 10, 2025.
To say we are disappointed would be an understatement. Although it appears the Grinch has made himself comfortable at the Ottawa Airport, we would still like to take this moment to wish everyone Happy Holidays during this festive time of year.
In Solidarity,
Aaron Dell – District 364 Chairperson, Unifor Local 2002
Harold Bateman – Assistant to the Local 2002 President
Tammy Moore – Unifor Local 2002 President
25-12-12 Porter YOW - Shift Bid and Reduced Hours update EN.txt