Tentative Agreement -- Take 2

- New Horizons, September 28, 2011 -

Although we were told that everything would be up in the air if we rejected the first tentative agreement, it was decided by the Company and the Bargaining Committee to simply rework what they had dealt with in order to come to some sort of terms. It seems to have been a legal obligation. As a result of this decision the "new" tentative agreement consists of a package showing what had been dropped, what had been added and what had been reworded.

Although the Component has recently put out a Q&A Bulletin clarifying some of its positions, we are still offering our views and our thoughts on our possible responses.

According to the BC there are two major concessions -- or losses as they prefer to call them.

There is a Letter of Understanding to the effect that the Company shall continue to block 50 percent of the current A321 fleet (based on yearly flying hours) with 5 Cabin Personnel. Others will be blocked with 4 and adjusted by "crewing to load" with negotiations or arbitration to deal with an change in the current fleet. We have not been given any indication as to what this will cost us in terms of cabin personnel made "surplus" through this move. We should also note in this context, the fact that the crewing provisions of L33.02 referring to YVR-PEK 767 flights will not come into effect for two years. The change will also disappoint many commuters who have often been able to get to work on a fully-crewed A321 with empty seats.

The other loss was that of 3.5 (out of 11) full-time PBS releases as of January 2012 with arbitration of the final total to be determined by Arbitrator Teplitsky within two months following ratification. It is hard to assess what this will mean in terms of bidding support but CUPE assures us that there will still be ample support for us at each base during bidding periods.

Agreement to Strike

An insidious document was slipped into the Tentative Agreement package. According to the latest Component bulletin:

"We are nearing the end of this process. If the Tentative Agreement is not accepted, the Union is obligated by agreement with Federal Mediators to provide the Company with notice of a strike. There will be no opportunity to return to the bargaining table. Please see the attached memo from the federal mediators which states: "If not ratified, the Union will provide the Company with seventy-two (72) hours' notice of a strike within twenty-four (24) hours of knowledge of the ratification vote results. Such notice to be serviced in accordance with Division V.1 Article 87.2 (1) of the Canada Labour Code Part I."

Why was this agreement made? Who stands to benefit from it? Was the Company (along with the federally appointed mediators) hoping to get an even better agreement for itself it we go on strike.

On the one hand it is presented as having been imposed and on the other hand as an "agreement".

But we were nowhere part of that process.

Wage increases. We are told that this is an improvement for us but many members consider that the numbers mean our standard of living will continue to slip. At 2%, 2%, 2% and 3% it is the same increase as the CAW-organized employees got.

We would like to point out that since 2000 the Consumer Price Index has been as follows:

The right-hand column indicates the percentage change from the previous rear. We invite you to factor in our wage "adjustments" over the same period and see where we stand. Keep in mind, as well, that the CPI for the past few months has been averaging over 3% for the year.

Although the Company declared that it intended to reinstate pass service charges and they would no longer be a negotiable item, the hundreds of commuters across the country, including those from the basis that were closed who gained a one year reprieve, are concerned that the increase in commuting costs will devour any wage "increase".

And, of course, there are concerns about the potential increase in our pension contributions taking away much of the wage "increase".

VSPs

The highly creative and immensely unpopular two-tier voluntary separation packages that were presented in the first TA disappeared this time around. More than a few people are disappointed that there will be no VSP's to allow them to exit gracefully (and gratefully).

So What Did We Gain this Time?

4-Year Term

While four years is not an ideal length for a collective agreement because of the number of changes that can transpire over that period and from which we are never able to benefit if things go well while the Company can always find a way to make us pay for a crisis that is not of our doing, the 4-year term puts us back in line with the other unionized groups at Air Canada and with proper direction from the membership could significantly increase our bargaining power next time around.

Domestic Expenses

The increase in domestic expenses has been appears to be substantial. However, it seems that the Company offered the pilots 33%. Our 14% seems rather paltry in comparison.

And what about International Expenses. The Company has always been very quick to decrease them when there has been an increase in value of the Canadian dollar yet refuses to accept the increases in the value of other currencies AND the significant inflation in some countries as a reason to increase our per diems.

Duty-Day Minus 4

This is the gain in this tentative agreement. It will either put an end to the long, unpaid waits sitting around airports by forcing the Company to make more productive use of cabin personnel or it will be forced to compensate us for those waits. While it will not effect the most senior, it will be a major improvement for large numbers of FA's. The BC offered a convincing argument that this is something that would very likely NOT appear in any arbitrated settlement.

The problem of Continuous Duty Days was passed over in silence this time around, presumably because it is hoped that the DD-4 provision will either end them or force compensation. It is unfortunate that there was no wording included to limit the number of such pairings FA's could be forced to do consecutively.

Sched. or Better for Reserve

This is very definitely a gain for junior flight attendants and pursers. Yet many have pointed out with regard to this and DD-4 that the Company has agreed to improvements in the past but never implemented them.

LOU 35 (COLA and Me-Too)

This was returned to the agreement but discussion has indicated that it is rather ambiguous and difficult to apply in any case.

B767 International Crew Rest Seats

On B767 without crew bunks the Company will dedicate two (side- by-side) seats on flights over eight hours. This is an long- overdue gain that will be appreciated by anybody working the longhaul South American flights, among others.

It is unfortunate that we will still have to fight for the fundamental right to have a place to sit and eat away from the toilets on the Embraer.

Pension Arrangements

The implications of the Burkett arbitration "awarded" to the Air Canada CAW workers, and now part of our collective agreement if this TA is ratified, has to be looked at in a separate article. Our first impression is that this is the foot in the door for ultimately replacing defined-benefit pensions with defined contribution plans.

The increase in the formula for early retirement of a combined age and years of service from 80 to 85 will leave a number of people who had hoped to take advantage of this option rather disappointed. It will oblige them to work another two and a half years.

And, as we pointed out earlier, the potential increase to our pension contributions as a result of a pending arbitration could take away much of the so-called wage increase.

Unpopular Articles

Many unpopular and ludicrous articles from the first version of the TA were dropped this time around: The Vacation Time Bank, which would have "allowed" (read obliged) us to work extra hours every month to buy back the vacation time that was taken from us during the CCAA manoeuvre.

The Reserve Premium and the provision for "Night Time Airport Stopovers" (or CDD's) will hopefully be compensated for with the DD-4 clause.

The additional Maximum Monthly Limitation could have had us flying more hours every month.

The Name Brevet agreement was not only ridiculed, it also went against previous jurisprudence allowing FA's to opt out of wearing names on the brevets.

Reference to Flex Benefits meeting with Company deleted but it doesn't mean the Union won't be called on to meet the Company to hear its presentation on the issue.

All reference to the Low Cost Carrier deleted at Company's request. No assurance that it won't still happen and have a major impact on wages and working conditions of junior FA's. For example, there may not be forced transfers but the juniors could have the "choice" of a transfer or a layoff as the mainline fleet is cannibalized.

All the other articles from the first TA remained in place as agreed during the first round of "bargaining."

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

We have two choices. As the commentary pointed out, the decision must not be based on fear and intimidation.

If we choose to accept this TA, we must do so because we consider it is a TA that is worth accepting and that we are not taking a decision that is in somebody else's interests.

If we reject this TA, it is because we do not consider it is sufficiently superior to the one we rejected which led us to our strike preparations.

The important thing is that we must take the necessary time to weigh our decision. We must put an end to the kind of arbitrary time-lines that are being imposed on us. The membership must decide on the time they need and act accordingly.

October 1, 2011 Bulletin • Return to Index • Write to: editor@cpcml.ca