As Our Movement Grows…
Congratulations!
First of all we would like to congratulate all of our Pilots for Change endorsed Candidates who stood for election in the YYZ Local Councillor race! John Colligan, Dave Darby and Charlene Hudy were acclaimed. We would also like to congratulate Apoorv Chandra and Joby Bond who were also acclaimed as YYZ Councillors. Thank you for raising your hand and volunteering for our association. We look forward to the progress you will make as you continue the legacy of YYZ councillors holding our MEC accountable and insisting they hold the line on our collective agreement.
Thank you to every single candidate who has chosen to run in these ACPA elections. It is not an easy decision to enter the ACPA political arena and volunteer to represent your fellow pilots. Even at times when we may have a difference of opinion, everyone running deserves recognition and a round of applause for making the decision to represent their fellow pilots.
Engagement is one of our core elements, and election season is the perfect time to engage our pilot group as much as possible!
Elections for NEMs and Base Councillors
Cameron Soderberg, Jon Gabbert and Jesse Jantzi need your vote in the upcoming NEM MEC election! Voting opens October 4th on the ACPA website. All three are true unionists and know it’s time we start doing things differently if we plan on winning an industry leading contract.
In Vancouver we have 5 excellent councillor candidates running: Regan Bosch, Tim Everets, Jason Hartleb, Ryan Mouck and Julian White.
Together, all of these Pilots for Change endorsed candidates are ready to lead the charge and build back trust in our association through transparency, engagement and contract enforcement. It’s time to Vote For Change!
MEC Chair Vacancy
Earlier this month our MEC Chair gave notice of their resignation effective the end of September.
As we best understand the constitution, there shall be an election for an Interim MEC Chair to assume the role until a permanent MEC Chair is elected by the MEC via secret ballot in the spring for a three year term commencing on April 1st, 2022. For your reference, at the end of this newsletter you can find the sections from our ACPA constitution regarding a MEC Chair vacancy and the regular MEC Chair election process which remains scheduled for spring of 2022.
One of our goals at Pilots for Change since inception has been to support election candidates who share our vision for the future of our association. In order to move towards transparency, accountability, education and relevant communication we would prefer to work with a MEC Chair who also shares this same vision for our future. To make this a reality, we need as many like minded MEC members as possible when it comes time to elect a new MEC Chair in the spring. It is of fundamental importance for us to be successful in winning all three Nationally Elected Member (NEM) MEC positions this fall, as those three year terms will begin on January 1st, 2022. Remember that our new permanent MEC Chair, as well as the three NEMs elected this October, will be responsible for leading our pilot group through the next round of contract negotiations in 2023. Our collective agreement, which governs our wages and working (WAWCON) conditions, is literally on the line.
We are currently busy vetting potential candidates whom we would like to endorse for a MEC Chair run. If you have union leadership experience, share our core elements, and are interested in putting your name forward under our banner please do not hesitate to send us an email.
Let’s talk about our Pension (Pensions)…
This topic is the elephant in the room and few want to address it head on. However, we pride ourselves on having tough conversations amongst our organizers and supporters at Pilots for Change. Some people view us as a junior movement who only want to change things for the sake of changing things. Understandably, this scares some of our pilots because let’s face it - change is scary. As humans we do not like change and that very word often triggers a reaction of fear and misunderstanding.
Our mission is stated simply on our website: to realize our full value as professionals - we feel that this is a mission all our pilots can get behind; junior, senior, wide body, narrow body - and from base to base.
So let’s set the record the straight - The Change we speak of is raising the bar for ALL Air Canada Pilots!
We have some members of our pilot group on the Defined Benefit (DB) pension plan and others on the Target-Benefit Plan - the Canada Wide Industrial Pension Plan (CWIPP). What a division this is within our pilot group! And who wins when our pilot group is divided? Well it certainly isn’t us.
We are not trying to create more division nor are we attempting to take anything away from any of our pilots, no matter where your seniority lies. There are some who wish to paint us as a junior movement coming after the DB pension. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We have supporters from all over our pilot spectrum who understand that ACPA's current way of doing things is a broken model and in order for us ALL to thrive as a pilot group, change is our only option.
What this means is striving to raise up all the pillars of our collective agreement; from safety, scope, scheduling, pay and lastly, what is arguably the most controversial pillar, pension. It is time for us, as a collective pilot group, to stop robbing Peter to pay Paul. We often hear the question “What are you willing to give up to get “X”?” The answer should be nothing! As pilots we deserve a bigger cut of the entire pie. It’s really that simple. We are overdue for being acknowledged for the value we bring which is intrinsically tied to our company’s success. It’s time for a significant investment in the pilot group. That is the change we desire and must demand moving forward.
Every single pilot who works under our collective agreement deserves a good retirement. After each one of us has contributed to the success of this airline we all deserve to be well taken care of into our retirement years. What we would like to see regarding our pensions is similar to what we want to see with the unity initiative. We need a full and comprehensive investigation of all of our options. Is there a way to get all of our pilots back onto one pension plan? Or, how do we make sure that the company contributes equally to both pension plans so that each group has an equitable quality of life well into retirement? We are one pilot group so we are certainly in this together.
Ultimately, to make an informed decision about our pensions we need to have good information. Making decisions without proper education is foolish, and this circles back into one of our core elements, Knowledge. Knowledge is Power and the more we know about all of our options going forward the better off we will be. This applies to all decisions and is why we should see an exhaustive investigation and an equally fierce education campaign on all of our pension options. Then we, the pilots, will decide what the best course of action is going forward - as one, unified group.
Survey #2 is Open
Have you filled out our second survey yet? It is a short survey where we are looking for feedback about what you want to hear from our candidates during this election season. Please fill it out and pass the link along to your colleagues!
Video Presentations
Have you checked out our YouTube page? So far, we have two videos posted highlighting the downward trajectory of our wages since the turn of the century.
It is certainly worth your time to watch these videos. Please pass on the links to your fellow colleagues and start discussing the content in the flight deck. Pilot to Pilot conversations are the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal to educate pilots on the state of our profession, WAWCON and our union. Spread the word!
It is time for Air Canada Pilots to realize their value as Professionals.
Thank You
As always, thank you for choosing to stay engaged in your profession. This is Your union and Your voice should matter.
Remember to Vote Yes to Change by supporting Pilots For Change candidates when the election opens on October 4th!
ACPA Constitution Re: MEC Chair Vacancy & Election
Section 5
Nominations and Elections of the MEC Chair
a) The MEC Chair is elected by the MEC.
1) Election of the MEC Chair takes place every three (3) years.
2) On or before January 31st, the VCC shall:
i) issue a newsletter containing a call for nominations a minimum of ten (10) days prior to the special meeting called for the purpose of electing an MEC Chair to notify Active members that an election of a MEC Chair will take place; ii) invite Active members to submit to the VCC the names of proposed candidates prior to a date which shall be specified in the notice, which date shall be between 10and 21 days from the date of the notice containing a call for nominations; and iii) advise Active members of the qualifications sought in the MEC Chair.
3) Before the name of a candidate is placed in nomination as a candidate for election as MEC Chair, the individual must deliver to the VCC declaration, in writing, stating that he or she is willing:
i) to stand for election, and if elected or appointed, to serve as MEC Chair; and
ii) to comply with the MEC Member Code of Conduct and sign and abide by the ACPA Oath of Office.
4) Each nomination form must be signed by at least five (5) Active members and accompanied by such information as is prescribed by the Nominating Committee.
5) The nomination period shall be open for a minimum of ten (10) days and shall remain open until the special meeting called to elect the MEC Chair is called to order and the nominations are closed.
6) The Nominating Committee will examine each nomination received and, if requested, make recommendations to the MEC for consideration at a meeting to be held no later than February 28th, of candidates who, in the Committee’s opinion, best fit the required qualifications.
7) The MEC Members shall elect their preferred candidate for MEC Chair (“Chair Elect”) from among the nominated candidates.
8) A special meeting of the MEC called for the sole purpose of electing an MEC chair shall be held not later than February 28th.
9) If the current MEC Chair is a candidate, the meeting shall be chaired by another member of the MEC selected by a majority of the MEC.
10) All candidates will be given an equal opportunity to address the MEC prior to a vote
11) The election for the MEC Chair shall be by secret ballot
12) Only voting members of the MEC, or their designated alternates, shall be eligible to vote in the election of the MEC Chair.
13) Proxies are not permitted
14) A minimum of three (3) members of the VCC shall be present at the special meeting and shall oversee the voting process including the collecting and the counting of ballots.
15) The candidate that receives an absolute majority of votes shall be declared the new MEC Chair.
16) Balloting Process
i) If only one (1) candidate is nominated, that candidate shall address the MEC and a vote shall take place. An acclamation for MEC chair is not permitted ii) If more than two (2) candidates are nominated, balloting will continue with any candidate receiving zero votes and the candidate receiving the least number of votes being dropped from each ballot until the first instance an absolute majority is achieved. iii) If two (2) or more candidates are tied with the least number of votes, a runoff ballot shall be held between those candidates. Balloting will continue until one (1) candidate is eliminated by having the fewest votes in the runoff ballot.
iv) The candidate(s) surviving the runoff ballot shall be returned to the main ballot and balloting will continue.
17) Once an absolute majority has been obtained by a candidate, the VCC members present shall sign a Certification Statement and report the results to the Chair of the Special Meeting. The ballots will then be destroyed and the vote count shall remain secret.
18) The MEC Chair shall assume office on April 1st following his election.
Section 7
By-Elections
MEC Chair
1) In the event of a vacancy in the office of the MEC Chair, a special meeting shall be called for the purpose of electing a new MEC Chair, who will fill the remainder of the term.
2) A by-election for an office shall conform to general provisions of Section 5 of this Article and the following timelines:
i) The by-election shall be completed no later than 30 days after the date of the vacancy. ii) The MEC may, at its discretion, extend the timeline above by an additional 30 days due to exceptional circumstances.
iii) The MEC may, at its discretion, waive the requirement for a by-election if the vacancy occurs on or after January 1st of a year scheduled for an election of the MEC Chair.