Happy Labour Day!
Why Labour Day Matters
Labour Day is often marked by events where men and women in shop uniforms and work boots, or bright union-labelled t-shirts, carry signs supporting their ‘local’ and march through downtown streets cheering for one another. So why should we, as double-breasted-tunic-wearing professionals, care about it?
Labour Day matters because it is about workers like us, using the power of their collective voice to fight for safe working conditions and equitable wages. This has been our story as well. When reflecting on the United pilots 29 day strike of 1985 Captain Dave Landry describes how a union mindset and being a professional pilot go hand in hand; “Looking back, there were many elements that influenced the outcome in 1985: an ego-driven CEO, broken promises, courage and betrayal. However, if I were to pick the one key element to our success, it would be trust. Trust in the leadership and trust in each other. There were dark days in 1985, as there are today and will be in the future. We will continue to endure the vagaries of the airline industry and ultimately it may be simple luck that determines our fate. Nevertheless, in 1985, we demonstrated that unity is a very powerful weapon to combat corporate greed and management hubris. For the participants of the strike, we will all agree, those 29 days in 1985 have become an indelible part of our memory. For myself, at no other time in my 37 years at United can I say I was more proud to be associated with this pilot group.”
Have you ever noticed that friends from outside of aviation assume that if you are a professional pilot for our flag carrier you must be wealthy? Why is that? It’s because your friends recognize that airline pilots are well educated, highly trained and experienced professionals that spent years working to achieve their positions. During every flight pilots manage risk, accept tremendous responsibility and uphold their reputation as some of the publics’ most trusted professionals. Your friends know our value – why don’t we?
Sadly, during the last 20 years the wages and working conditions (WAWCON) at ACPA have been on a downward trajectory and have not kept up with inflation. All the while, housing prices have skyrocketed and the quality of life we enjoyed just a decade ago is slipping away.
Labour day teaches us that if we band together and all start marching in the same direction we can achieve great things. We can stand up together and say “We Know our Value” and demand to be treated properly and compensated well. The current leadership regime at ACPA does not believe in grassroots, democratic labour unionism like this though.
ACPA currently follows a business union model where the member simply pays a membership fee (union dues) for a very, very basic service. So what is business unionism?
In Jim Smith’s article ‘The Corporatization of Unions’ he describes it as “a corporate model has been embraced by much of labor. This development parallels the growth of the modern corporation. It is characterized by a ‘top-down’ decision-making structure, relatively high salaries for those on the top and low salaries at the bottom, an ever expanding staff at the top levels, a reduction in autonomy at lower levels (think trusteeship), an exclusionary structure, a broad agreement with corporate political goals and an intolerance for democratic dissent at all levels.”
Sound familiar?
Pilots for Change is fundamentally opposed to business unionism because it ignores the collective wisdom of our members; which if structured under an environment of trust and transparency, and complemented with other relevant professionals, will succeed. We believe that the only way out of the mess we are in, is to embrace the ideals of labour unionism. When you have deteriorating wages and working conditions, a collective agreement the company only respects when it benefits them, and hundreds of colleagues on furlough who do not have a voice and have no timeline for recall - it’s time to stand together and say ‘Enough is enough!’.
Our labour is our power and we need to know our value. Airlines do not work without pilots. So, YES, labour day is incredibly important to professional pilots.
P4C graph plotting 767 wages since 1993 with inflation plotted in orange.
Elections are coming!
Earlier this week ACPA announced the timeline for the fall election cycle! Pilots for Change is excited for the upcoming elections and we hope you are as well. The call for nominations closes on September 21st with the vote running from October 4th to October 14th.
It is very important to note that we need to win all of the Nationally Elected Member (NEM) Representative positions for the makeup of the current MEC to just remain the same! This is a very narrowly split MEC and the split is not in our favour.
Equally important, is winning as many councillor positions as possible in all of our bases. We are currently in the final stages of vetting potential candidates for councillor positions. If you would like to be considered for running under the Pilots for Change banner please do send us an email. We will be announcing our full slate of candidates in upcoming newsletters so stay tuned!
If you have not told all of your friends and colleagues about Pilots for Change now is the time to do so. If you are not happy with the status quo at ACPA then it is clearly time to vote for change. We must keep the momentum rolling and continue to win as many elected positions as possible. Then when it comes time for the fall 2022 elections we will be positioned to take control - if not sooner - as the MEC Chair election is this spring.
The 3 year terms resulting from these elections take us right into the contract opener for the fall of 2024. The future of our livelihoods literally depends on the results of these upcoming elections. If that does not engage the apathetic sections of our pilot group, we do not know what will!
Pilots for Change has a long term strategy to redirect our union and return the voice to the membership as our Constitution demands. Every single election is important to the success of our strategy - so get ready to get the vote out!
Covid Testing & HKG - the risk is real.
A recent topic of concern is our pilots flying to and laying over in Hong Kong. First and foremost, let’s discuss the fact that if you or anyone in your flight crew tests positive for Covid-19 after arrival in Hong Kong you will be sent to a covid quarantine camp. Given the transmissibility of the delta variant and the fact that some breakthrough cases are possible even for fully vaccinated people this is concerning. As far as we know, the accommodations at this camp are far from acceptable, but there is very limited information available to us about this possibility other than, it does indeed exist.
What we do know is that earlier this year the FedEX MEC had reports from numerous pilots about these camps. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) who represents FedEx pilots took action to lobby the company and government on this issue and the FedEx MEC also dedicated a podcast to this topic. The Independent Pilots Association (IPA) who represents UPS pilots took action to ensure their pilots are kept safe by mitigating the risk of quarantining in some camps where the conditions and time frame are ambiguous at best. United Airlines and American Airlines crews do not currently layover in Hong Kong and have a shuttle set up similarly to how we operate Shanghai flights with a shuttle to and from Incheon.
Furthermore, the fact that block holders are scheduled to come in on a day off for covid testing is problematic. This affects the way that we can bid for our schedules since the PBS system is now programmed to ensure you have a certain number of hours free from duty prior to any trip where pre-departure covid testing is required. So one must ask - what is the point of a day off from work if you are obligated to do company business on said ‘day off’? That certainly does not meet the definition of a day free from duty. This becomes even more problematic for those who are on reserve when crew scheduling attempts to book covid testing on days off. Time off from work is time off. Period. Being paid 3 hours to submit to a covid test at a company approved facility should be considered duty as it’s clearly company business. This is a slippery slope indeed.
If you are concerned about Hong Kong layovers and would like more information - please be sure to file a hazard safety report and contact the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Committee. Remember that you do not actually have to fly to Hong Kong to file a report - you should file a safety report whenever you feel that there is a safety issue. As we stated in an earlier newsletter, if nothing is reported then it is the company’s default position to assume that everything is fine.
As always, your MEC should be aware of any concerns you may have so be sure to email your Locally Elected Council (LEC) Base Chair representative. For your reference the email address to reach the entire MEC is [email protected].
Company Mandated Vaccines
On the sensitive topic of the recently announced company wide mandatory vaccines, Pilots For Change organizers have had numerous conversations on the subject. We reject the company's "threat of termination" for pilots who are unable to comply with the directive. All pilots should be afforded equal representation as members of the association regardless of their personal beliefs and/or convictions.
Resignations
There were a couple more high level resignations from hard working ACPA volunteers last week. What is happening on ACPA island? When will enough be enough?
CargoJet Fires our Furloughed Pilots
In a stunning move, CargoJet management fired 23 of our furloughed pilots last week, effective immediately, while they all were still on company probation. Unbelievably, while our fellow furloughs are being fired, CargoJet is busy training foreign pilots on Foreign Licence Validation Certificates (FLVC) in ground school classes.
As always it is important to stand together with our fellow colleagues across company boundaries. Add your voice to the calls stating foreign pilots shouldn’t be able to fly for a Canadian airline while we have qualified pilots within our own borders. Please email, or call our Minister of Transport and your local member of parliament.
LAST CALL: P4C Survey
Have you filled out the first official Pilots for Change survey yet?
This survey and the ones that will follow, all have the aim of getting our direction from our membership. Make sure your voice is heard and fill out the survey today!
https://forms.gle/RFxUvxaJAmYbMxib7
The survey will close at the end of the week. Once Pilots for Change has time to review the results and feedback, we will be sectioning off part of our newsletter to discuss the direction you, the membership, wants to take our union. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to fill out this survey.
If you are a furloughed pilot it is very important you fill out this survey. If this crisis moment in our industry has taught us anything, it is to not forget the lessons of the past as we plot our track for the future. Furloughed pilots across our industry within Canada have had vastly different experiences depending on the length of their furlough and ability to access Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). Our furloughed pilots are our future so we need to hear from you!
Till next time
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We do not take your time or attention for granted and we hope you do find value in the viewpoints and information we are providing. Let your fellow colleagues know about us and encourage them to sign up for our newsletter.
Thank you for staying engaged in our profession! Your voice should matter.
Happy Labour Day!