Cdn's FAs settle contract with AC

[Shareholder]

Flight Attendants at Canadian have voted to accept a new contract with Air Canada, and the CUPE local has also applied to Canada Labour Relations Board (along with other Cdn and AC unions) to have AC recognized as a common employer, reports the "[National] Financial Post" this morning. No details of the terms of contract were published.

Article says CUPE, but I thought FAs were CAW at Cdn, CUPE at AC. Or is it CUPE at both for FAs, with CAW representing ground staff (except ramp and maintenance who are Machinists Union) and res agents at both carriers?

[This message has been edited by Shareholder (edited 07-07-2000).]

[A Flygirl]

The Airline Division of CUPE represents both the AC and CP fa's. CAW covers the reservation and airport agents for both airlines an IAM the other groud staff as you thought. Denise Hill herself is actually a Canadian Regional Flight Attendant and, on the personal side, is the common-law partner of Buzz Hargrove.

The common employer application was filed on Mat 19th and the response from managment on June 30th was to support it.
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/June2000/30/c0477.html

Shall I bite on what the conditions are? Why not. A number of working conditions, superior to those of a similar nature found in the AC contract, have been lost by CAIL members but it was expected. These items can now be put back on the table when this new contract expires June 30, 2004. The significant differences to adopting the pure AC contract are covered in letters of intent. Highlights are:

1. Wage parity effective Jun. 1/00 and inclusion for the 3% increase due Nov. 1/00. The WRP program (wage rollback) is cancelled and the wages deducted from Apr.1/00 to date will be reimbursed.

2. CAIL fa's are now eligible for Voluntary Separation packages. CAIL fa's will not become members of the AC pension plan until legal ownership is assumed.

3. AC will pay 100% of the cost to outfit CAIL members with the AC uniform (fittings started Jul 5). AC employees pay a portion.

4. CAIL will continue with the position of CSD until there is a single collective agreement.

5. All leaves that have been granted will remain in effect.

6. CAIL fa's can keep their present bidding system which is "preferential" versus "line" (preferential - bidding on individual flight sequences throughout the bid period. line - bidding on a full set of sequences created for the entire bid period as prepared by crew planning). The practice of "mini-blocks" can be continued. This was a measure instigated in a cost savings attempt whereby CAIL fa's fly only 1/2 of the required flight hours per month.

7. Bankruptcy protection.

8. No involuntary base relocation.

9. No layoff guarantee until 2004.

The 81% vote in favour clearly states that CAIL CUPE members happily embrace being one step closer to a full integration http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[Shareholder]

Not to mention you will get paid what you're worth again. What is the status of CAW contract? I thought CP staff voted to accept it a few months ago, but that AC staff rejected it? (That didn't make sense because I thought all AC unions, except pilots, signed longterm contracts during last year's takeover battle.) Never was clear, but it also had wage parity, etc. Has IAM signed a new contract? I know Cdn pilots did a month or two ago. Thanks for the details of the contract, and clarifying Denise Hill's place of employment which I may have gotten wrong in my post about Air Rage last night. (We knew the other detail from stories last summer/fall.)

[A Flygirl]

Shareholder, thanks for the vote of appreciation. I'm going to give you links to websites for the other unions where you can scan through the bulletins for all the details. Basically everyone is waiting for the outcome of the pilot's negotiations and the ruling of the CIRB on the common employer case.

With CAW, which you correctly summed up, both employee groups have contracts with AC management but with different expiries. CAIL in 2004 and AC in 2002. This causes concern regarding potentially unfavourable bargaining tactics which can be used by management in 2002.

The IAM, both employee groups, signed an agreement back in January (I beleive) with a mutual expiry date. Letters of understanding and/or intent are constantly being negotiated to harmonize the two forces. There is no common contract though and the wages are still not on a par. They are the only AC union that has agreed to an extension of their present contract if my recollection serves me right (my IAM source is out of town.
http://www.accomponent.com/index.htm
http://www.cupeairlinecdn.ca/index.html
http://www.caw-tca2213.com/english/whatsnew/1.html (AC)
http://www.caw.ca/airlines/index.html
http://www.iam140.org/english/News-F...sh_index.shtml


Newsflash!!

AC files for common employer to help speed up negotiations.
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/July2000/07/c1929.html

[This message has been edited by A Flygirl (edited 07-07-2000).]