June 5, 2019 - AC Component

Uniform Committee

admin on June 5, 2019

The Component Uniform Committee is comprised of a Component Uniform Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Local Uniform representatives from each base. The Uniform Committee participates in all required meetings with the Company under the provisions of Article 7.03.01 of the Collective Agreement including the Company’s Uniform Design Working Committee and other such joint committees.

The Committee monitors and addresses with the Company all issues surrounding the flight attendant uniform’s colour, material and style (e.g. durability, wear-ability, safety, etc.). Where necessary, health and safety issues related to the uniform are identified co-operatively with the Union’s Health & Safety representatives, and if necessary appropriate action and resolution are taken.

The Union’s Uniform and Health & Safety representatives work co-operatively to ensure that our members receive the best possible uniform meeting all appropriate safety standards. We are also there to help facilitate any issues members might have regarding the uniform, and to ensure it is maintained to the same specification that was agreed upon during negotiation.

Although it is almost impossible to please everyone, we are always available to assist with questions and problems that arise from time to time.

Committee members

We can be contacted at:

Co-Chairs:
Phillipe Rousseau & Jennifer Agmon
uniform@accomponent.ca

Local 4091:
Francis Cayer

Local 4092:
George Barelos
Nicole Proulx

Local 4094:
Dorothy Stauffer
Geoff Trimpol

Local 4095:
Jeannine Gillis

Tabulating Committee

admin on June 5, 2019

The Component Tabulating Committee is comprised of a Component Tabulating Chairperson, and Local Tabulating representatives from each base. The Tabulating Committee abides by the Component By-laws to oversee elections, ratification votes, etc. It prepares information and bulletins to help aid in the voting process. It also deals with any appeals that may arise after an election.

We have made numerous changes to the voting process since its inception, including the introduction of electronic voting (website and phone) vs. manual voting (the physical ballot). This could not have been accomplished without the dedicated assistance and support of your administrative staff in the Head Office of the Air Canada Component of CUPE.

We will continue to review the process and make the necessary changes required to better serve the membership in this regard. Your support is vital to ensuring our voice is heard. Our union is only as only as strong as its members.

We enjoy working on your behalf, and welcome any comments or suggestions regarding your right to vote.

Committee Members

We can be contacted at: tabulating@accomponent.ca

Jennifer Young
4092 YYZ
Chairperson

Venessa Boucher
Component

Sandra Jodoin-Battaglieri
4091 YUL

Anuschka Elkei
4094 YVR

Carlos Fonseca
4095 YYC

Vacant
4098 Rouge

Reserve Committee

admin on June 5, 2019

This committee consists of one member from each Local, appointed by the Local President and one Component appointed member. Each Local Component Committee member, in turn, heads up the Local Reserve Committee, under the direction of the Local President.

The first project on the Committee’s agenda is to receive training on the Netline awarding system in order to have the ability to use this system to track violations of award assignment and illegal changes to reserve members’ schedules.

The second project will be the development a “Reserve 101” seminar to teach members about reserve rules. Once developed, this seminar will be available at each Local to offer as needed – when new hires join the family or when layoffs force more senior members on reserve and they need a refresher on the rules.

In conjunction with the new component website, the Committee will participate in an online chat forum for Reserve. We will also further develop the concept of AM/PM reserve, monitor Call in to Reserve conversion rates and ensure that each base creates and maintains the overseas assignment list provided for under article B8.19.

Reserve has undergone many changes this year, due to the implementation of bidding for reserve days in PBS. Gone are the pre-set block patterns which made it easy to predict if you could hold a day off. Unstacking, previously only applicable to regular block holders, is now a reality for reserve block holders as well. We recognize the hardship this has created for those members at the very bottom of the list, whose chances of receiving the days off they bid for are greatly diminished. Unstacking proved especially challenging with the October block month, with many junior members on vacation – unstacking (especially on Thanksgiving) reached far up the reserve seniority list.

Reserve is not what it used to be and our support for our Members on reserve must be more proactive. It is our hope that this new committee will be an invaluable tool not only in the preservation of reserve rights under the Collective Agreement, but also be the driving change for improvements in reserve during the next round of bargaining in 2011. This committee will provide reserve members with a voice and encourage the participation of an often-disenfranchised group in the Union. While we do not pretend that this new Reserve Committee will be able to solve all these problems, we hope to create a forum for new and creative solutions to be discussed and developed.

We encourage anyone interested in participating in this important initiative to make your interest known to your Local.

Co-Chairs
Jesse Matthews
Chanelle Serra
reserve@accomponent.ca

Pension Committee

admin on June 5, 2019

Your pension committee advocates, educates and communicates on pension matters important to you.

Your pension plan is one of the most valuable assets you will acquire during your working career. For most members the Company pension will form the most significant portion of their retirement income. It is important that we work to protect, preserve and enhance this asset.

Our pension plans are governed by Federal rules and regulation. OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) is the federal agency that overseas federally regulated pensions. Our pension plans are subject to the rules and regulations established through OSFI and also by certain federal taxation laws.

There are separate workplace pension plans for CUPE members originally hired at Air Canada Mainline and those originally hired at Air Canada Rouge. CUPE members who transitioned to AC Mainline through the merger with Canadian Airlines International Ltd (CAIL) are members of the AC Mainline Plan (see note below). CUPE members who transfer between AC Mainline and AC Rouge and vice versa continue to participate in their original pension plan. Members who transfer will continue to accumulate qualifying service and allowable service in their original pension plan as if they were still working there.

Note: CAIL CUPE members who were age 55 or over and who were not in the CAIL pension plan on October 1, 2002, were not required to join the pension plan, following the merger with Air Canada. For all other members who were not members of the CAIL pension plan, membership became mandatory as of January 1, 2007.

The pension benefit provided for members hired at AC Mainline on or after November 7, 2011and the pension benefit for members originally hired at AC Rouge are the same. The CUPE hybrid pension plan provisions apply to these members. The hybrid plans have a mix of defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) components. Under the DB component, you accumulate a pension throughout your career at Air Canada Mainline and Rouge that is calculated based on a predetermined formula. Under the DC component, yours’ and Air Canada’s contributions, accumulate with investment returns – the account balance when you retire provides you with retirement income, in addition to what you receive from the DB component of your pension.

All other members of the AC Mainline Pension Plan (ie; those hired before Nov 7, 2011) participate and are covered by a defined benefit (DB) pension. A defined benefit plan (DB Plan) means that the pension you accumulate throughout your career at Air Canada is calculated based on a predetermined formula.

Members can find a summary of the details of their pension plan provisions, in the “Members’ Portal” on this CUPE website or on the AC aeronet under the “HR Connex” tab. On the AC aeronet once you sign in: > click on the HR Connex tab > under “Retirement” > click on “HR Connex Pension.” Under the “Knowledge Centre” tab (tile) you will find a very readable summary of your pension plan provisions. This site also has other very useful and informative information about your pension. For AC Mainline Plan members there is also a pension calculator where you can “Project Your Retirement Income”. If you want to find your Average Annual Compensation (best 3 years) and the time period it is based on, click on “Calculation Details” after you have done a pension projection. The pension projection tool is not yet available for Rouge Plan members but it is a feature that will be added in the future.

You can reach out to your pension committee representatives on any pension related matters. We encourage you to initially contact HR Connex Pensions, now the AC Employee Care Team 1-833-847-EMPL (3675) with any specific questions regarding your pension as they have access to your file and should be able to address most issues.

Committee

Chairperson

Marc Roumy

Members

Henly Larden
Caroline Lozeau Gélinas

pensions@accomponent.ca

PBS Committee

admin on June 5, 2019

The Joint and Local PBS Committees provide support for the membership in regards to the PBS system. Our goal is to ensure that the system is reliable and that our members have the information and skills that they require to utilize PBS to the best benefit of their seniority.

The Joint PBS Committee works with the Company and the PBS software supplier in ensuring that PBS is functional and available to the membership. In addition to providing support for the Local PBS Committees, they ensure that new features and system development is completed and tested for adherence with the specifications of the software and compliance with the Collective Agreement. The Joint PBS Committee also provides information, on a national scale, to the membership for PBS issues and new features.

The Local PBS Committees are the local interface for PBS and are available and accessible to the membership for PBS questions and bidding assistance. They participate in the monthly PBS activities such as Pairing Review, Bidding Assistance, Awards Process and Contesting. Your Local PBS Committee is aware of the specific nuances at your base. They are there to answer your questions on PBS as well as provide assistance and support for new features. Our bidding strategies change depending on what we want, or what is going on in our daily lives. Local PBS Committee members are available at the Communication Centres during the bidding period to guide you through the system, help you with your questions and assist you to best manage your bidding strategy.