Further to the Secretary-Treasurer’s update last week, the Air Canada Component Executive (ACCEX) has continued to discuss the matter of union dues during these difficult times, and we recognize the challenges some of our members face. ACCEX acknowledges that our membership has been severely impacted by the effects of COVID-19, especially financially. As such, we are happy to report that we have passed a motion to temporarily reduce union dues for the block months of April 2020 and May 2020.
On an exceptional, one-time basis, the Air Canada Component will reduce union dues for these two block months by two-thirds. For these two months you will only be charged 0.5% of gross earnings compared to the regular 1.5% of gross earnings. This will directly impact those members in receipt of CEWS benefits, as well as members actively flying. We hope this reduction will make a difference for you all.
The Component will continue to remit our per capita payments to CUPE National as per the CUPE Constitution and remit monthly budgets to the Locals as per the Component Bylaws. For the most part, these will be covered by the reduced dues, and any remaining amounts will come from the Component’s cash reserve. We have a $1.7 million GIC that matures on May 1, 2020, and the interest received from this investment will cover the majority of the Component’s fixed operating costs during this time frame.
We are happy to be able to do our small part to assist our members during this exceptional time. We are here for you and will continue to be until we can all rest easy and know that we weathered this storm together.
In solidarity,
