It was truly a pleasure to see so many of you at our Roadshows and Zoom Roadshow meetings over the summer. As we have seen in the media, things are really starting to heat up in the federal sector and our own backyard from the CN/CPKC rail strike and now our Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge Pilots positioning themselves to take work action in a matter of days if they do not secure a tentative collective agreement.
CN and CPKC Rail
On August 22, 2024, Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Rail (CPKC) initiated a lockout against its workers who are represented by Teamsters Canada.
On August 23, 2024 – only 17 hours after this began, the Liberal Government intervened ordering binding arbitration to end the labour dispute.
Your bargaining committee is following the situation closely as it unfolds. Your Executive has shared our message of solidarity and support with the Teamsters and CUPE has written a firm letter to the Minister of Labour telling them to respect our right to free collective bargaining.
Air Canada Pilots
Our friends at ALPA are in a position to take legal strike action as early as September 17th. After more than a year of long bargaining they have had enough, and their members have given a strong show of support with a 98% strike mandate. It is no secret that what happens with the pilots will have a direct impact on us both now and when we hit the table in 2025. We support ALPA in asserting their fundamental right to take any work action they see fit, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with them in pushing back on any attempt from the Federal Government to intervene in the collective bargaining process. Although our needs may be different, we are in the same fight against corporate greed and the attack on our fundamental right to withhold our labour. Their fight is our fight!
Click the link below to write to the Federal Labour minister, Steven Mackinnon, and to your federal MP, to let them know that the government needs to keep its nose out of ALPA-Air Canada negotiations!
https://cupe.ca/negotiations-should-be-free-and-fair
What is next?
Your Bargaining Committee is hard at work developing bargaining proposals and doing the research needed to support those proposals.
As promised during our Roadshows, we will continue to survey the membership, including a short survey included in this bulletin regarding how best to communicate and engage with you. We are also developing a Cost-of-Living survey to better understand the financial situation our members find themselves in.
We continue to work with our outside Media firm Point Blank Creative. This week our Mobilization Chairs met with Point Blank to further our Mobilization plan and dovetail it with a larger media campaign.
Our Mobilization and Engagement Committee will be holding recruitment events at each base in early October, more info to come. Membership engagement is crucial, and we are looking to recruit hundreds of member mobilizers for this unprecedented round of bargaining. We need each and every member onside to secure the collective agreement our members deserve.
We are also launching a new member-led campaign to put pressure on Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge to address unpaid work. We need to show Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge that this is unacceptable. You and your fellow members are the most credible voices on unpaid work—when you take action, you’ll make the biggest difference. Take this quick survey and let us know how we can work together for a better deal.
https://vlfs8a.typeform.com/to/U4s6zbuc
In solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee