Thank you to everyone who contacted us about your right to wear the green union lanyard. As you know, we filed an Unfair Labour Practice (ULP) complaint with the CIRB to protect members’ ability to show support for their Union during bargaining and interest arbitration. Click HERE to view a copy of the CIRB Complaint.
We have now received Air Canada’s response.
In its submissions, the Employer acknowledges that:
“Air Canada acknowledges that a single manager at one of its four bases was requesting that cabin personnel remove their Union-issued lanyard to be replaced with the Air Canada approved lanyard, in accordance with the Style Standards Policy. This manager was not acting at Air Canada’s direction, and these requests have since stopped.”
What this means
The Employer has confirmed the requests to remove union lanyards have stopped. This resolves the immediate issue members raised and affirms your right to support your Union at work.
Next steps
In light of the Employer’s acknowledgement and the fact that the conduct has ceased, we will withdraw the ULP complaint. If you are asked to remove your union-issued lanyard, or face any issues as a result of union activity, please document the details (date, time, location, manager name if known) and contact us immediately.
We thank you for the countless members that have reached out to express concern on the employer attempting to infringe on your rights, and we are happy with Air Canada’s acknowledgement. We strongly advise all members to continue to wear these lanyards until the arbitration process is done.