By Tim Heffernan The following is an interview with Sean Smith, Mobilization Co-ordinator with UNIFOR 2002 and a representative of the Toronto Airport Workers Council. The interview was conducted in April 2016. Tim: Tell me about the issues facing workers at Pearson Airport. Sean: Well, what’s unique about airline workers (and) that few people realise Continue readingClass struggle at Pearson airport
Air Canada
By Dan Janssen, Vice President IAMAW Local 2323 With the Federal election just around the corner, it is a very exciting time to be part of the labour movement in Canada. As a passionate and active union representative, a member of the Toronto Airport Workers Council, and a worker at Canada’s largest airport, I feel Continue readingPearson workers at the vanguard of labour struggles this election
By Dan Janssen May 29th marked 15 years for me as a worker at Lester B. Pearson International Airport. I love my job loading aircraft with bags and cargo, sending them on their way to far off destinations around the world. Best part about my job is my co-workers and friends. We have fun at Continue readingYYZ contract flipping and the race to the bottom needs to end
By Andrew Stevens In the waning months of 2014, Air Canada’s pilots signed an historic 10 year agreement. The settlement included wage increases of more than 20 percent over the life of the contract along with and a profit-sharing formula, among other benefits. Both Air Canada and the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) saw this Continue readingAdvances for Air Canada workers or an opportunity lost?
By A.C. Air Canada customer sales & service agent “Air Canada’s Customer Sales and Service Agents are the stars of a tightly orchestrated pre flight and pre-boarding process”, reads Air Canada’s En Route magazine. This very strategically placed article was printed in the May issue of En Route in the midst of contract negotiations. Although Continue readingThe Bully in the Workplace
What the Supreme Court of Canada decision will mean for unions and workers: Lessons from Air Canada By Andrew Stevens and Doug Nesbitt Back-to-work legislation and sweeping “essential service” designations at the federal and provincial levels. These are trends that are sweeping public and private sector industries nation wide. Tomorrow, the Supreme Court of Canada Continue readingAn era of wildcats and civil disobedience in Canada?
Thankless toiling at Canada’s flagship airline Writing on condition of anonymity, a veteran Air Canada employee talks about work at Canada’s flagship airline and puts into context the “bag toss” incident witnessed by a passenger at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport last week. The two Air Canada employees, who were recorded dropping luggage into bins several Continue readingA Glamorous Job at Air Canada?
In Rankandfile.ca’s final weekly labour news post for 2013: Union organizing at Carleton University Layoffs and resistance at Canada Post Legal challenge waged against Albert’s Progressive Conservative government Service sector organizing in Canada Korean workers fight against the threat of rail privatization IAMAW focuses on organizing non-traditional workplaces Return of “Rae Days” in Ontario New Continue readingLabour News Update – 30 December 2013
Canada After the longest certification campaign in Saskatchewan’s history, workers at the Weyburn Wal-Mart voted to decertify. The decertification vote took place in 2010, but the ballot box was sealed pending a court challenge and appeal. Wal-Mart was found guilty of numerous unfair labour practices since the union, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Continue readingLabour News Update: 19 August 2013
A weekly digest of labour and labour-related news Canada PSAC going to federal court over forced vote at CBSA PSAC communication, July 2013 Ratification of Agreement Ends Airport Strike PSAC new release, 22 July 2013
By Amanda Moravec Pension plan solvency deficiencies – the hole that opens up when there aren’t enough assets to cover liabilities if the plan winds up – are vexing public and private-sector pensions. That fraction of workers fortunate enough to have a defined-benefit (DB) pension plan is facing a toxic mix of volatile returns, extremely Continue readingMaking the Best of a Bad Situation at Air Canada
CEP-CAW merger talks | CAW and the Big Three | Alberta government & labour statistics | British workers and the Olympics | Air Canada | Peterborough Baskin-Robbins | Locked-out ConEd workers