Our next General Membership meeting: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 | 15:30 CST | AC Cafeteria & Virtually on Teams
Our next General Membership meeting:
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 15:30 CST | AC Cafeteria & Virtually on Teams
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.
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.
Please be advised that Arbitrator Ready has offered the Union and the Company with another date, which both parties and our legal teams have agreed on. The next date that the National Vaccine Policy Grievance Arbitration will be heard is Wednesday, October 12th, 2022.
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.
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
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.
Further to Bulletin No. 015 dated April 2, 2022, District Lodge 140 is pleased to advise that the parties have agreed to hear the national grievance regarding Air Canada’s mandatory vaccine policy on July 19th, in front of Arbitrator Vince Ready.
Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends,
For months now, Manitoba’s unions have been raising the embarrassing fact that Manitoba is set to have the lowest minimum wage in the country this year.
After refusing to do anything about this, today the Stefanson government scrambled to introduce a bill that would allow the government to make a one-off increase to Manitoba’s minimum wage in light of skyrocketing inflation. The bill doesn’t specify how much the increase will be, only that it will be more than the 40 cent increase government announced just a few weeks ago, to take effect October 1.
The government has also now committed to some sort of consultation prior to setting the rate of the additional minimum wage increase this year, and we need to make it clear that anything less than a living wage is unacceptable.
Attached you’ll find a short position paper we’ve drafted on Bill 44 – The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Minimum Wage), which we’re asking to have read into the official record in the Legislature tomorrow. If affiliates are interested in submitting supporting messages in favour of a living wage for the official record, please let us know – the more voices, the better!
In Solidarity,
Kevin Rebeck
President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour
MFL_url-RGB
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
