As many members may be aware, notice to Bargain was submitted to Air Canada on December 1st. https://accomponent.ca/bargaining-committee-update-2-2/
Since that time, we have heard that members are being approached by management and asked to remove their Unpaid Work Won’t Fly luggage tags even though they have had them on their bags for quite a while. This change in practice by the employer creates a heightened awareness on the part of the membership of the fact that we are now actively engaged in the negotiations process. We hope that this awareness solidifies our unity and brings us together for a common purpose – to negotiate and be a part of a successful and effective round of collective bargaining.
We encourage our members to continue to display their luggage tags with pride. We will fight for any member who is reprimanded and assert that your right to continue to display a Union tag is protected by law. You have a right to associate with and support your union, and a protected right to express yourself on bargaining issues.
In a decision between Air Canada and your union, an arbitrator stated:
Union members’ speech relating to collective bargaining issues is highly protected, as the Supreme Court has underlined:
[L]abour speech engages the core values of freedom of expression, and is fundamental not only to the identity and self-worth of individual workers and the strength of their collective effort, but also to the functioning of a democratic society. Restrictions on any form of expression, and particularly expression of this gravity, should not be lightly countenanced. (RWDSU, Local 558 v Pepsi-Cola Canada Beverages (West) Ltd., [2002] 1 SCR 156, 2002 SCC 8, ¶69.)
The Arbitrator went on to say that “Freedom of expression is a fundamentally important right in the context of industrial relations, and arbitrators must be concerned that it is not improperly confined by rules or by the imposition of discipline.” [Air Canada v Canadian Union Of Public Employees, Air Canada Component, 2016 CanLII 80470 (ON LA), <https://canlii.ca/t/gvr11>]
If you are directed by a manager to remove your luggage tag, we recommend that you report this to us immediately. Please write to contact@accomponent.ca with a full report including dates, times and names.
The Union needs your support to be successful in this round and we will be asking our members to engage in initiatives that may result in some uncomfortable situations with management. This is likely to increase further as we move through this process. The support of the membership will be a crucial element of our success in this round of bargaining. Solidarity is a living and breathing entity that requires a commitment to action with the knowledge that you are part of a collective. When we embrace and demonstrate true solidarity there is nothing that we cannot achieve. We will make change.
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee