days until our Collective Agreement expires, we are preparing, we are united and we will make change.

Trip Trade System Is On The Horizon

We know that you have all been waiting very patiently for the new Trip Trade system, as this was a popular highlight of the ratified Collective Agreement. What follows is an update as to how this implemented item is progressing, details about the system itself, and a look forward to future phases of implementation, when the Trip Trade system will acquire additional options for members.
Air Canada pilots were the first group for whom the Trip Trade system was implemented, as their Collective Agreement bargaining process in which agreement was reached on a Trip Trade system pre-dated ours. As the Company announced on December 20, 2016, the first phase of the Trip Trade system for cabin personnel will be implemented in January. We have approached the Company about the possibility of implementing the Trip Trade System at Rouge and anticipate discussions on this in due course.
During negotiations, the Air Canada Component of CUPE’s Bargaining Committee (ACCEX) insisted that our Trip Trade system should include a ‘drop’ option (when you drop a pairing without getting one in return). The Company agreed to our request as long as this could be achieved on a cost-neutral basis. Because we have never had this capability, the drop option will initially be implemented on a trial basis to measure the potential impact.
 
Pairing Trade Options:
1- One to One: a crew member offers to trade pairing(s) with another crew member;
2- One to Any: a crew member creates an offer to trade a pairing(s) without specifying a trade partner. The crew member may select the trade partner from among those who have expressed a desire to exchange pairing(s) with the offering crew member;
3- One to None: a crew member offers a pairing to potential trade partners. Another crew member may pick-up the pairing without having to take a pairing in return.
Trading Lockout Period: 24hrs prior to departure (on a trial basis)
 Click here the read the negotiated language
IMPORTANT
Our Trip Trade system will not include open flights that would normally be awarded through the award sequence pursuant to article 7.04, including:

  • Pairings not awarded through the PBS system;
  • Manning/crewing to load pairings;
  • Pairings dropped due to: book offs, long term absences due to illness, no shows, leaves of absence, overprojections, irregular operations, union releases, special assignment, drafts, held out of service, etc.

 
Phase I of the Trip Trade implementation is basically an automated, online tool version of article B12, granting members the ability to Trade to None as per the negotiated language. The final version of Phase I will be put forward for a membership referendum after the type trial period.
Phase II – For the second part of the Trip Trade system’s implementation, ACCEX will consult the membership on a number of available options, and make decisions on these options by holding a referendum, which will determine the Parameterization of Phase II.  As per the Component bylaws, under section 4.5 the ACCEX shall ensure that any major changes to the Collective Agreement recommended by the Component Negotiation Committee during the term of the Collective Agreement shall be ratified by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of all of the members of the ACCEX representing at least half (1/2) of the total membership.  This Collective Agreement change will not take effect unless it is also subsequently ratified by a Membership Referendum Vote in accordance with Appendix “B” of these Bylaws.
 
QUESTION: What would lead to a referendum vote during Phase II?
ANSWER: In the event CUPE and the Company agree to features which vary from the Collective Agreement, we would trigger a referendum vote before proceeding with these changes. This type of potential change to the Collective Agreement would be considered ‘major’, and could only be adopted as a result of a membership referendum vote.
 
CONCLUSION
If you’d like to further understand much of what is explained above, we would invite you to consult the three charts attached to this bulletin, which were prepared by Component Vice-President Edith Gagnon. They do a great job of outlining the Trip Trade system, its options, and how it all fits into our Collective Agreement.
Click on the links below to access the charts
1 – Open Flying – Article B7
2 – Trip Exchange – Article B12
3 – Newly Negotiated Trip Trade System
Once again, thank you for your patience as we all eagerly await the deployment of our new Trip Trade system. Our membership has been hoping for a system like this one for many years now, and it’s finally about to become a daily part of our lives. It’s taken a long time, as was the case with other collectively-bargained technological revolutions for our community (many of us remember the lengthy and monumental transition from paper bidding to PBS), but speaking from behind the scenes, we can tell you that we are extremely excited for the tremendously positive impact this fantastic new system will have on our lives. As was the case for PBS, Trip Trade offers a wealth of options and possibilities that we can collectively consider and integrate, with the goals of increasing flexibility in our schedules, tailoring our flying with greater personalization, and improving our personal work-life balance.
In solidarity,
ACCEX
Michel Cournoyer
Component President
Edith Gagnon
Component Vice-President
Antonius Lam
Component Secretary-Treasurer
Guillaume Leduc
President – Local 4091 YUL
Denis Montpetit
President – Local 4092 YYZ
Anna Clauser
President – Local 4095 YYC