Bulletin # 42- ALL IAMAW MEMBERS-LEGISLATION UPDATE-10 PAID SICK DAYS

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Dear Members,

I am proud to say that our efforts were successful and that as of Dec.1, 2022, the Canada Labour Code was amended to provide 10 paid sick days for workers in the federal jurisdiction. There has been less success at the provincial level, particularly in provinces where Conservative governments brought in temporary measures, which are now expired.

The accrual of sick days starts in December, but actual sick days are not accrued until next year. 3 days will be accrued at the end of the first 30 days of legislation coming into effect, then additional days are accrued at a rate of 1 day per month, to a maximum of 10 days. It’s important to note that paid sick days are not in addition to what Collective Agreements provide, rather, if the Collective Agreement is inferior to the new law, employers must abide by the superior legislation. Sick days can’t be stacked with days available under a Collective Agreement; workers have access to either their Collective Agreement entitlements, if that agreement is superior to the law, or 10 days if the legislation is better than the agreement. The two cannot be combined. As a general rule, when determining if a Collective Agreement provides a better benefit than the new law, consider the entirety of sick day clauses in Collective Agreements.
In solidarity,

Dave Flowers President & Directing General Chairperson

Bulletin #41-EFAP PROGRAM UPDATE

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Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Air Canada has agreed to keep the full-time regional positions in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Further, they have agreed to recognize the importance of the peer reps within the workplace.
As of November 1, 2022, all IAMAW members of Air Canada were added to the Air Canada eligibility list at Lifeworks. Anyone seeking counselling can contact Lifeworks, and you will be set up with a practitioner in your area.
The phone number for Lifeworks is 1-844-880-9142.

In solidarity,
Derrick Bashford
National Coordinator
Transportation District 140
Employee and Family Assistance Program

Bulletin #36 Air Canada EFAP Program Update

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Dear Sisters and Brothers,
As the National Coordinator of your IAWAM Employee and Family Assistance Program, I never expected to write this bulletin. However, due to the changes made by the Government of Canada, the IAMAW disability structure with Air Canada, no longer qualifies for the Employment Insurance Rebate that has funded our program for the past 20-plus years.

Bulletin #35 Vaccine Policy Grievance Update October 12, 2022

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Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Further to Bulletin No. 031 dated September 14, 2022, District Lodge 140 advised our members that the next date that the National Vaccine Policy Grievance Arbitration will be heard was Wednesday, October 12, 2022.
Please be advised that during this hearing, the Union and our legal team have presented our case. Due to the complexity of the grievance, further dates will be required in order for the arbitration to continue; this includes allotting time for the company to present their case to the arbitrator.
Upon completion of the hearing, Arbitrator Ready immediately offered the Union and the company a set of tentative dates, which we will relay to the membership once confirmed by all parties.

AIR CANADA NATIONAL GRIEVANCE VACCINE POLICY BULLETIN #028

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Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Further to Bulletin No. 022 dated June 1st, the National Vaccine Policy grievance hearing commenced on July 19th, in front of Arbitrator Vince Ready. Both parties were represented by their respective legal counsel and the Committee of General Chairpersons was in attendance.
As this is a complex and multi-faceted issue, much of the first day was spent in mediation and dealing with preliminary objections. Please be advised that by direction of the Arbitrator these mediation discussions are strictly confidential.

IFA Starting Wage Increase Winnipeg Finance

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Earlier today, Air Canada informed the Union that, given the difficulty in hiring and retaining new staff in the Winnipeg Finance Branch, as per Article 5.02 of the CBA, they will be increasing the starting wage of new hires and current employees who are below step 5 to step 5 of the 2022 IFA wage scale. Please see below excerpt from the CBA.

5.02 The Company, at its discretion, may commence a newly hired permanent or temporary-term employee at any published rate within the wage scale of the classification into which the employee was hired, but not in excess of the maximum published rate of the classification.

As we are in agreement with members receiving higher wages, this will only impact members currently below a step 5 and new hires. This move will not impact any other current members financially; however, we are hopeful that this will help the company attract and hire new members and finally start to ease the workloads for all members. This was the sole decision of company to make this call, we have no control over this decision. Recent benchmarking against other companies in the Winnipeg area showed that Air Canada’s starting wages are no longer competitive. While we understand not everyone will be in agreement with this move by the company, the Collective Agreement does allow for it. Rest assured your Union will be seeking competitive wage increases across the board when the contract expires in 2026.

In Solidarity,

Jordan Strang
Shop Committee Chairperson

IAMAW LL2603

EFAP UPDATE FOR IAMAW MEMBERS

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Dear Sisters and Brothers,
On April 28, 2022, PDGC Dave Flowers and I met with Air Canada regarding EAP Funding. Due to a change made by the Government of Canada, Air Canada and the IAMAW no longer qualify for the Government’s Employee Insurance Reduction Plan. The EI Reduction plan has funded the EFAP for the past 20 years.
Before January of 2021, companies applying for the EI Reduction required a Short-Term Disability plan (STD) that commenced after the fourteenth day of leave. The Government changed the eligibility to those companies with STD programs that begin after the seventh day. For this reason, the EFAP did not receive funding for the 2021 year.
For many years, our members have enjoyed the comfort of chatting to a peer for assistance with their concerns. Sometimes this was a need to vent about the work environment. Other members’ needs were far more intricate and required the help of a professional. The EFAP has helped our members at all hours without fail, and the team of caring individuals wants to continue to support our friends and colleagues. Currently, there is enough funding to continue our EFAP work. However, our program will terminate early next year without additional EI Reduction monies. I have met with the Negotiations Committee about their thoughts on bargaining to change our current STD to the required seven days. I didn’t receive any indication if the committee would pursue this line of negotiation or not. Also, I am not sure that Air Canada will want to negotiate this item.
Air Canada has offered to add IAMAW members to the company-funded EAP they use. The program consists of LifeWorks and Maple’s online app. LifeWorks is an equal program to Homewood, and Maple is essentially a 24/7 online medical walk-in clinic. We are unaware if the union members you know, and trust, will have a role in this program. Given our forty-plus years of working with our members, I believe our program exceeds anything the company can offer.
I realize this bulletin may generate many questions. Questions that we may not have the answers to right now. I will continue to update as I have more information. Today, we are business as usual, and your EFAP is still available to you for the foreseeable future.
In Solidarity,
Derrick Bashford
National EFAP Coordinator Transportation District 140, IAMAW

DL 140 Auditors Election October 2022

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Dear Brothers and Sisters:

District 140 Auditor Elections will be held at our upcoming DL140 Convention being held in Ottawa, Ontario on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, October 25, 26 & 27, 2022.

There are to be to be three (3) Auditors elected in total, one (1) Western Region, one (1) Central Region and one (1) from the Eastern and Atlantic Regions combined.
Transportation District 140 Bylaw, Article 13.02 – Audit Committee reads as such:

(a) The Audit Committee shall consist of three (3) Secretary Treasurers, one per region of the Local Lodge affiliated with the District Lodge 140 and one (1) Trustee from the Executive Board.

(b) The Audit Committee will be elected at the convention for a four (4) year term. If one (1) of the Auditors is defeated in Local Lodge office, his or her successor will become the Auditor for the balance of the four (4) year term.
Any Member in good standing and meeting the qualification requirements in Article 5.07 of the DL140 Bylaws will be eligible to run. Those qualifications are:
a) A minimum of two (2) years continuous good standing in the IAMAW.
b) Attended a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of regular quorum meetings of the Local Lodge that their shifts would allow in the previous twelve (12) months prior to the close of nominations.
c) Any Member wishing to be a Candidate must submit a letter, to the DL140 Secretary-Treasurer, that if nominated the said member would accept the nomination. Included with this letter, there must be a letter signed and sealed from their Local Lodge Recording Secretary attesting the Member is in accordance with the above requirements.
Both these letters must be received by the DL140 ST, at least thirty (30) days prior to the opening of the Convention (Sunday, September 18, 2022).
At the Convention, Regional caucuses will be held attempting to reach consensus on the Auditor position from each Region. Failing consensus on any of the Auditor positions within the Regional caucus will result in an election on the Convention floor by the delegation.
Please post and circulate this Bulletin to ensure that all potential Candidates are aware of the qualification requirements. If any further information is required regarding this matter, please feel free to contact the undersigned.

In solidarity,
Alfredo Acrobati
Secretary-Treasurer
Transportation District Lodge 140, IAMAW

IAMAW MEPP ENROLLMENT FORMS AND DOCUMENTS

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This bulletin is to advise all Transportation District 140 members of the IAMAW Multi-Employer Pension Plan (MEPP), of a change to the MEPP enrollment process for new members. All new hire Transportation District 140 members who are hired with any of the ten (10) participating employers in the MEPP will receive an enrollment kit from the MEPP.