yyzgigi

Yes. Was thru customs and security in 15 minutes. Walked by a line that stretched to domestic checkin. My flight to LAX and SFO was actually moved to international gates to expedite. Had I known I could have skipped Nexus all together and used the INTL MLL. However, no one including the conceirge who printed the boarding pass knew.

Means I will be testing Global Entry in LAX while the others line up for immigration.

KeithC

Just went thru domestic security in YYZ.

Had NEXUS, and NEXUS line had no people in it so got through quick. Heard was 2 to 3 hour line for domestic security, and international was even longer. Concourse completely filled with wrap around lines.

Good luck everyone!

yyzgigi

Unfortunately making it thru security is only the first step. You need to wait for the last person on the flight to get to the plane. Boarded AC793 more of less on time and the whole J cabin is here waiting for the rest of the passengers to arrive.

Thankfully conceirge took mercy and allowed us to standby from a later flight and upgrade space was plentiful. So at least comfortable while we sit at the gate ready to go.

RCyyz

Greetings from the Transborder MLL. It's times like this I'm glad I have both status and NEXUS. One out of 2 would help, but having both is a game-changer in this case.

The lineups outside are impressive. I'd say these are the longest airport lineups I've ever seen at any airport. Fortunately with status I was able to get straight to a counter for checkin. (Didn't have time to do OLCI.) I noted to the AC checkin lady that "I don't think the CATSA folks are earning a whole lot of sympathy for their cause." To which she replied "Oh no. I'm right there with them. They have to fight for their rights. Trying to schedule people by skill instead of senority it just plain wrong! And the split scheduling, I mean, with the price of gas these days what's someone supposed to do?"

I nodded thoughtfully and moved on.

There was no lineup for NEXUS so I went straight through. Only 1 kiosk was working though; perhaps NEXUS is on sympathy strike?

One lady in line wondered aloud "How do people get to use those machines and not line up?" I had lots of time so I mentioned NEXUS to her - told her to Google it and consider spending the $50. She was surprised it was cheap but balked at getting her biometrics on file. I asked her how long she had been in line; turned out she had been there 3.5h and counting. For me it was onwards to security. Time elapsed so far - just over 5 min but only because I had that little chat with the lady.

At security the lineup was equally impressive. Here I went straight to the front of the line (Pearson Priority actually worked this time). But it took me 35 min to get through. The CATSA guys were nice enough but they were working as slowly as possible. They were complaining to each other about "them" and what "they" wanted to do. I gather that the scheduling by skill set instead of senority is a big sore point. But the split shift thing seems to be 4 hours on, 2 hours off, then 4 hours on again. I don't see any great benefit to that unless people get paid differently for 4h shifts vs 8h shifts. Still, that seems a bit of a silly way to try and save costs. The senority thing I have no sympathy for though.

All in all, 40 min from arrival to MLL. Not bad but that's only because of NEXUS and status. Having only 1 out of 2 would probably save up to 2h of lineup but still entail another lineup of up to 2h. Having both - well that's why I work hard to maintain status and ensure my NEXUS / GE enrollments are up to date!

Santander

^ Some people I see walk around with their chests puffed out flaunting that they're "Elite" or "Nexus"... I just shuffle through the line and thank the travel gods that I don't have to stand in that line.

evanderm

On Facebook, GTAA is encouraging people to comment to CATSA:

yyzvoyageur

If Garda is trying to impose split shifts on its workers where split shifts were not previously a condition of employment, I fully support the workers. No one should have to work a split shift. That said, I haven't seen any mention in the media of split shifts being a sticking point. For all I know, we're just spreading rumours here.

nowinyow

What does "skill set" have to do with working hours? This implies that some people who are scanning and checking for nefarious contraband are not as skilled at searching as others? Hmmm, this doesn't make me feel any more safe hearing this! Maybe skill sets come from experience? How long does one work as a screener before ones' skill set is recognized as proficient? A few days? Weeks? Months? Years? Wouldn't that dictate seniority?

Santander

Split shifts are a reality in smaller airports such as YYD and YQZ in BC. During CATSA's last days at YQF, the full-time employees essentially became casual on-call. However, these are all tiny airports where it is unfortunate, but inevitable. Split shifts in YYZ of all places is outrageous. Perhaps Garda is actually trying to pinch pennies by not having to pay for their lunch breaks?

This may have something to do with job-related qualifications which they hold. I know that not all screeners are "qualified" by CATSA to operate the body scanner or screen checked luggage.

CloudsBelow

Oh, I get it, this is your attempt at an anology I guess?? That is extremely well thought out.

If budget issues with my wife cause immeasurable frustration, worry, grief, anger to tens of thousands of innocent people completely unrelated to the issues I was having with my wife, yeah I think it would be time to divorce my wife

This is a pathetic situation. There are people missing connections everywhere - delayed getting to loved ones in failing health, weddings, funerals etc all as a result of the actions of this group of disgruntled deadbeats. Someone please convince me how that is fair.

yyzvoyageur

My comment certainly had an urban or Toronto-centric bias. In a small regional airport where they may only have flights departing in the early morning and then later in the afternoon, I can understand having split shifts. At those airports, employees likely live nearby and would have had split shifts as a condition of employment right from the start. Trying to implement split shifts at YYZ, where employees may live in Georgetown or Ajax, and, where flights depart all throughout the day, is insidious.

CloudsBelow

Really?
I was hired to do Job X by a very large company a few months ago. Duties and responsibilities were laid out to me durig the interview process and contract signing.
Company has downsized significantly in the last 5 weeks. We're facing new and lean competition and we need to get leaner or the competition will blow us out of the water.
Some cuts affects peers of mine in different cities. I have been told I am to pick up some of the slack.
I now do Job X + Y for the same pay I was hired originally.
Guess you'd fully support me if, because of this, I went and held up / frustrated a bunch of random citizens in my city completely unrelated to my compensation/work load from my employer??

Santander

It's not like the screeners are enjoying this either. Imagine the frustration of massive lines everywhere, abuse from (understandably) angry passengers, constant threats from their employer/labour board and possibly some very serious consequences for the leaders involved. Remember that these people have bills to pay and kids to feed as well. I'm not saying that this is 100% right, but we should try to understand both sides of the situation.

CloudsBelow

1. I've seen dozens of people in my office leaving in tears after a short re-org meeting where they were told business climate has changed and they were out of a job. They have the same bills and kids as scanners

2. What does the paying passenger have to do with their grievance? PAX have paid their hard earned money to get from A to B in a timely manner.

I feel for the PAX. I also feel for airlines like AC. I have never seen an industry like the aviation industry where every labour component in the process seems disgruntled and too short sighted to see the effects of biting the hand that feeds.
Between fuel price fluctuations, leaner, younger competition, striking or threatening workforce, gov't imposed fees and taxes . . . it's no wonder BK filings and operational shutdowns are almost a monthly occurance in North America. Look at Mesaba - they're recently done. Look at AA - People are quick to point out AA as the only airline that has not filed for BK protection . . . which will change in the not too distant future. Wish all the work-to-rule thugs up here had the intelligence to pay close attention to the haircut AA emplooyees are about to take. Open some eyes

yyzvoyageur

I've been on both sides of the union fence, previously as a manager with a private sector firm and now as a unionised government worker bee. I don't much care for either side. In both unionised environments in which I've worked, management plays silly games and the union executive plays silly games, all to the detriment of the workers. Nothing much is ever accomplished.

Whatever their grievances, I'm sure we all hope that Garda and the union sit down and hammer out a solution quickly. Who's to blame for this mess is unclear to me at the moment, but the status quo is clearly unacceptable.