Well That Happened…
It sure has been busy on ACPA island so let’s not waste any time and get into it…
Restart of Rouge
This is a substantial change to our collective agreement and as per our constitution one would have thought a ratification vote from the membership is required as per Section 12. b): “Any amendment to the Collective Agreement which changes the terms and conditions of employment and which, in the judgement of the MEC, substantially affect the pay, working conditions, pension or retirement of the membership shall be subject to membership ratification.”
Surely, having all of our pilots operate under mainline wages and working conditions would qualify as a substantial change to our collective agreement. So why then, is this not being put out to a vote for ratification by the membership?
But then one reads the constitution further and discovers Section 12. d): “Notwithstanding paragraphs a), b), and c), above, the MEC has authority to ratify any amendment to the Collective Agreement which, in the judgement of the MEC, does not substantially affect the pay, working conditions, pension or retirement of the membership.
Ratification/approval by the MEC of any agreements under this section require a ¾ Absolute majority vote of the MEC. However, the MEC may send any agreement to the membership for ratification at any time.”
Therefore, this deal could have been sent out to the membership for a vote but our MEC chose not to, due to a yes vote with 75% of our MEC approving this package deal.
This brings up the question, how did the MEC members, who Pilots for Change supported during elections, vote? Simple math narrows it down to potentially 2 members of the MEC who voted no to this package deal. So, as far we can assume, thanks to the overreaching and generic Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) that elected representatives are obligated to sign and the lack of publicly recorded MEC votes, some Pilots for Change supported representatives did vote yes to this deal. How did that happen? To say this realization provoked some vigorous debate and intense conversations within the Pilots for Change community would be an understatement. Voting no to allowing membership ratification flies in the face of our Pilots for Change ideals! So again, what happened? We have welcomed the lively debate this situation generated as it created a much deeper understanding of how truly broken ACPA is because nothing is ever black and white on ACPA island. Within this independent association there seems to only be shades of grey - even our own collective agreement appears to be written with the lightest of grey scales - but more about that later.
This was communicated as a package deal under a company manufactured time constraint. But ACPA never told us why negotiations happened in the first place - the company could have restarted rouge and recalled our furloughs without coming to the bargaining table - so now we are all left wondering why? It appears the MEC is trying to solve the company’s problems even though that is nowhere in their job description. It is ACPA’s job to protect and enforce our collective agreement and make gains whenever able. ACPA submitted to the company mantra of ‘there is no time for a vote, you must sign the deal now, or who knows what will happen to your 600 furloughed pilots!’ Our furloughed colleagues are the bargaining chips in, what some consider, a high stakes poker ‘game’.
The leadership at the MEC table is severely lacking during this crisis moment in our careers and that can not go unmentioned. This ‘game’ has some very real world consequences to it and in fact, is not a game at all. Considering the voting structure of our MEC - where one vote can make or break a decision - was there ever any chance of success when the livelihoods of our furloughed pilots hang in the balance?
True consensus building takes a lot of time and effort but in the end, the entire pilot group is better for it. Under this current leadership regime, consensus building does not even make it on the ‘to-do’ list, when it needs to be at the top of our leader’s minds. Therefore, until the makeup of the MEC changes and/or we win more elected positions this is, and will be, the result - as extremely frustrating as it is. Many whom have been employed here for years have seen this show before and are utterly exhausted by it. When will we stop with the petty base politics, divisions between junior and senior, narrow and wide body members? Who do these divisions really serve? Certainly not our pilot group.
Pilots for Change does believe that we should have one pilot group working under one collective agreement. For that action ACPA does deserve some credit but the methodology used to achieve this goal is lacking. We did not achieve all the gains we could have by agreeing to move everyone over to mainline working rules and conditions. Many pilots who flew at Rouge really enjoyed the working conditions there. There should have been a way to incorporate more of those lifestyle gains into our mainline contract in a more comprehensive and expedited fashion while upholding our seniority system. Then, to pile onto the ever mounting frustration, these negotiations happened under a communication blackout until we received an ambiguous email telling us the deal is already done.
No wonder ACPA has a serious trust issue.
So now, where do we go from here?
A Plan to Build Trust
Let’s get back to basics. A union's main deliverable is not bargaining a contract or winning a grievance or going on strike– its primary deliverable is trust. It’s a simple equation; TRUST = Truth/Time. The capacity to influence an employer, a government, a regulator stems from the consistent relationships unions build and the confidence their members are solidly behind them. These parties understand a union’s position on a wide range of issues, and they also trust that the leadership will uphold their promise, whether that's to seal a deal, advocate on a certain position or even to inflict economic pain.
How do we build trust in our Union?
Trust is fostered in a number of ways, not least of which is the one-on-one relationships we build with each other. Trust is built by consistently sharing our values, our plans and our long term goals with each other. In the context of ACPA, trust is built first and foremost in the flight deck– but also through LEC meetings, family events, conferences and committee meetings that are open to the membership. Allowing the members to connect with the organization on a regular basis and witness the decision making processes is one of the principal ways to develop and sustain the trust and unbreakable solidarity needed to win substantial contractual gains. Further, having leaders that are accessible to the membership, who are willing to stand and answer for the decisions of the institution are a hallmark of an organization worthy of membership’s trust.
Recently the University of California Berkeley researcher and labour organizer Jane MacAlevey published her report “Turning the Tables: Participation and Power in Negotiations”. She found in a wide spectrum of unions, including professional ones like journalists, that the bargaining outcomes were directly tied to the level of openness, transparency and ultimately trust that the union garnered from its membership. Numerous touch points with the union were created in the form of stickers, surveys, petitions and timely, consistent communications. Each was an opportunity to show the members the actual facts of bargaining with their employer and empower their members to directly participate in the planning process. Members in successful rounds of bargaining were often able to directly observe bargaining, including passing notes to their union reps as discussions were underway. Prior to sitting at the table, regular members were given detailed background briefings and instructions on table discipline: poker faces, no talking out loud, no reacting to the employer's comments. Their results were strong contracts, but an even stronger culture of trust and solidarity amongst the members.
Employers are highly resistant to open unionism. This style of organizing is frustrating to companies looking to bargain behind closed doors and view these kinds of unions unreasonable in their attempt to uphold democratic principles. But insisting on wide membership participation in directing union business means that when the chips are down and a decision can be made quickly to the benefit of the pilots, the union leadership has the trust and support of the membership.
When pilots are engaged in building the overall values and strategy of their union, they are more likely to see the positives or perils in any move made by leadership. The stronger the bond is between worker and union, the more empowered leaders are to move the union's agenda forward across all of its relationships.
Once Pilots for Change can participate fully in the decisions made around the MEC table, rebuilding trust in our union will be priority number one.
Vacation Buy-Backs
Let’s circle back to our collective agreement which appears to be printed in a very light shade of grey….
The company is in clear violation of our collective agreement and it does not appear that ACPA plans on doing anything about it. Clearly, the black and white language stated in article 19.02.05.04 of “Vacation buy-back will not be offered in any Block Period during which any Pilot is on furlough or there is a surplus of Pilots on the current Pilot Position Assignment List” does not mean much to the small majority on our MEC.
If our association really wanted to bring back our furloughs sooner they would stop allowing the company to leverage our fellow brothers and sisters like bargaining chips during negotiations and simply tell the company to follow our collective agreement. Instead we receive extremely vaguely worded statements from the MEC about this clear violation; “Members will have noted that the Company has sought to buy-back vacations from B-777 pilots at all bases, for the September and October block months, to cover a flying opportunity in Asia. In order to accommodate this new flying, the Company is considering cancelling or consolidating upcoming flights to Australia.”
This is an embarrassing way to run a ‘union’ and shows yet another failure of ACPA leadership. Doing the right thing is not always an easy path but, at the end of the day, it is the right path. At Pilots for Change we know this fact and we are ready to fight for what is right. Unrelentingly, we will continue instilling the ideals of labour unionism into our pilot group because finding the power in our collective voice is our only way out of this mess.
Jumpseat Issue
Speaking of messes, the long-standing reciprocal jumpseat program became a focal point due to a corporate decision to change the way in which our fellow colleagues at other airlines are able to book standby seats on us. Pilots for Change is encouraged hearing about all the email traffic this issue has generated! We would expect nothing less, as extending jumpseat travel to our fellow pilots at other airlines, is a foundational way of showing respect to others in our professional pilot community. If this privilege is revoked we truly have isolated ourselves onto ACPA island and will continually be tied to the whims of whatever management team is at the helm.
Yes to Email Campaigns!
This is your union and your voice should matter! If you are not satisfied with the current direction of our association, be sure to reach out to your Locally Elected Council (LEC) Base Chair representative. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, our Nationally Elected Members (NEMs) would be more than happy to hear from you. For your reference, the email address to reach the entire MEC is [email protected].
Survey
On that note, please take the time to make your voice heard! Below is the link to our first survey and we want to hear from as many pilots as possible.
https://forms.gle/RFxUvxaJAmYbMxib7
We have already received a response rate of over 10% from the pilot group with good coverage from all seniority bands.
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to fill the survey out. The information we gather will shape the direction we take as we continue to win more elected ACPA positions. If you have not already done so, complete the survey today and encourage your colleagues to do the same!
Above is a snapshot of the current seniority range covered in the survey responses to date. If you feel that your seniority band is underrepresented, fill out the survey ASAP!
Till next time
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