New Year, New Union
Happy New Year to everyone from all of us at Pilots for Change! We are thrilled that our newly elected representatives officially took office on January 1st and are more than ready to dig deep and start the hard work of changing our union from the inside out.
Our union needs a fundamental change in culture and that all starts with infusing our Pilots for Change Core Elements of accountability, community, culture, knowledge, engagement, and professional pride into the everyday union work ACPA undertakes on behalf of our membership. The ACPA motto is “Advancing Pilots’ Careers, Compensation and Safety”. At Pilots for Change we are committed to turning that motto into reality.
We Need YOU!
To successfully change our union for the better we need You! We need you to engage in our union and provide any feedback that you may have. Please stay tuned for upcoming announcements regarding meetings, surveys and as always when you fly the line remember to report, report, report! If you have a scheduling issue please be sure to email the Scheduling and Pay Claims committee at [email protected] to keep them apprised of any issues. All of these issues are being recorded and catalogued so reporting is paramount. If you have a safety or fatigue issue it's imperative that a report is submitted. One of our newsletters from last year detailed fatigue reporting and why a reporting culture is essential. A union is only as good as membership involvement and we require an engaged membership if we are going to truly change from an association that merely survives to a union that thrives. If our elected representatives are not aware of the issues you are facing they can not advocate effectively on your behalf. If you have any questions or concerns, your LEC Chair, Vice Chair and Councillors are only an email or phone call away.
Activating our plan for change will require many hard working, like-minded volunteers! If you are interested in revolutionizing our union be sure to fill out the form on the ACPA website. Even if you don't have any previous experience, your skills and talents will be put to good use on a committee that needs you. Please check out the current vacancies page on the ACPA website and be sure to fill out the committee application form even if you do not see a listed vacancy that interests you. We are looking for people who are motivated to do the work and change our Union’s culture from the inside out - from a business union mindset to a labour union mindset.
Lastly, especially for members of our Vancouver base, our newly elected YVR councillors have initiated a new way for members to interact. The YVR AC Pilots Discord internet meeting place was launched on New Year’s day as a way to revolutionize our method of communicating with each other. If you haven’t signed up fordiscord yet - what are you waiting for? It is open to all ACPA members, not only YVR based pilots. Simply email [email protected]from your Air Canada email address for verification purposes and connect via thislink. For furloughed members send an email to the above address from any email address with your employee number. If discord is proven to be popular amongst our members, efforts to expand it to other bases will be forthcoming.
Furlough Support Fund
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Furlough Support fund for 2021. Unfortunately we are just shy of our goal to assist all the furloughed pilots in need. On the other hand $31 725 was raised and $300 grants have been issued to 104 very grateful furloughed pilots. Without the support of our extremely generous pilots this would not have been possible so once again we would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you. The GoFundMe Page will be wound down at the end of next week.
It is important to remember that only a few of our furloughed pilots are actually back on the property - even though the last equipment bid did show numerous vacancies. Currently 280 pilots have been recalled but only approximately 120 of those recalled pilots are actually back working for Air Canada, collecting a paycheck again. Please remember, over 300 of our furloughed pilots have yet to see a recall notice.
This should go without saying but there does seem to be confusion around this topic so for clarity we must state - volunteering for overtime during this time period increases the time that our furloughs go without a paycheck from Air Canada. Period.
Covid on the Road
With the latest covid variant making its way through the population, remember that if you test positive for covid contact your MLO to inform them ASAP. If you are following a local health order to isolate you are not required to use your sick days. Your MLO should inform you of the proper process to follow. If you run into any issues be sure to contact your Local Council Base Chair.
Thank You
Thank you for your support and for staying engaged in our profession. Thank you for supporting Pilots for Change. We are looking forward to a very dynamic and challenging 2022!
This is Your Union and Your Voice does matter.