July Newsletter
Topics in this Newsletter:
President's Updates
Return to Work Committee Update
Bringing a Guest on a Layover
Importance of Documentation
Shift Trades
Save the Dates
Galley Gossip
President's Update
Dear Members
A quick update on the past month inside the local;
Union Grievance Management Software- We have spent the past several months researching union management software programs. Over the past month we have met with various software providers looking for a replacement program for our internal database management that is no longer being supported and is obsolete. We looked at several providers across Canada and the US. We are hoping to make a decision soon – and will share the outcome with the Membership! This is a critical piece to our operations as grievance and database management are at the core of the work we do and are critical to having internal organization and flow for this Local in the years to come.
Cabin Crew Jump Seat Agreements- We were advised by Air Transat that the company has chosen not to pursue the agreement at this time. We are disappointed to hear this and will continue to advocate for this from our employer and the other companies as this is something that we believe our members should have access to. CALM Air is currently in active discussions with the organization for a CCM arrangement and we will communicate once we have more information. Air Canada is another one we pursued but they had no interest at this time.
Townhall- We thank all those who participated in the Townhall. The video is now posted on the CUPE website. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions in advance. The Executive Board is meeting next week to discuss our next date and will share that information soon!
Special Membership Meeting- Thank you for your participation in the Special Membership Meeting. The participation of our members allowed us to stand up a committee to ensure our members' voices are appropriately and meaningfully engaged in decisions that have direct impact on them! If you wish to view the video, please log onto the CUPE website.
#Unpaidworkwontfly Campaign- Thank you to all those who participated and shared in the petition. 16998 signatures received! The next step is the House of commons has 45 days to respond to the petition- if the House is not in sitting upon the due date, they must respond to our petition at the next sitting. Those who participated in the petition will receive the response via email. The Airline Division Council of Presidents (ADCP) will meet next in September to plan our next step to our campaign. Please stay tuned.
WO Integration- We are actively engaged with the Employer discussing the WO merger. Our WO Integration Advisory Committee will be stood up around July 22, 2023, and we will hit the ground running – working on getting feedback. We remain committed to keeping our Membership informed in a timely manner.
WS Collective Bargaining 2025 - CA2 - We have added a count down timer to the website for when the various Collective Agreements expire. We ask our Members to begin to contemplate what our priorities should be. Please consider keeping notes on things that arise out of our current CA that you believe should be addressed. Internally we have begun to lay out our strategic plan. #beready #ourturn2025
Alia Hussain
CUPE 4070 President
Return to Work Committee Update
Please click here for the RTW (Return to Work) Committee update
Bringing a Guest on a Layover
Happy summer from your Hotel and Transportation Committee. With the season underway, we'd like to take a moment to remind everyone about the policy regarding bringing a guest in Company Transportation to/from hotels.
All requests must be made using the form on our Company issued device (iPad) and approved through Crew Accommodations. The permission to allow guests to ride along in the shuttle doesn’t reside with the Captain or Cabin Manager / Lead, nor the individual driving the van.
The reasons this form exists are numerous including implications around vehicle size, contractual agreements, insurance coverage, safety and approved capacity of seats for crew comfort. Additionally, some countries/destinations require specific guest manifests that can be verified by that region's police at any time. If the manifest doesn’t match the riders, the transportation company and the driver can be penalized financially, or more severe consequences can occur.
Lastly, some companies simply choose not to offer the ability to bring an additional guest and therefore are not included on the form list.
Please ensure you are following the documented process as outlined in Company communications. It can be unfair to Crew Members who did follow the process and may or may not have been granted approval to bring their guest to have others show up unannounced. This ability, when available, is a perk to all Crew and we'd like to continue offering it in the future, and not have it taken away from us.
Thank you and happy flying!
Your CUPE 4070 Hotel and Transportation Committee
Importance of Documentation
Completing an IHR and sending a copy to your DPM and Union Representatives is an important step to actioning change. It establishes documentation of the issue, and the Company cannot claim they were unaware of the issue.
For example, reporting safety issues such dirty ovens or extensive duty days due to schedule construction. Sharing this documentation with the Union is vital so that it can be followed up with by the appropriate committees such as Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), Base Vice President and the Executive Board.
This data is important to the Union to document issues and build our data to bargain for better working and living conditions.
To contact the Union got to www.cupe4070.ca/contact
Shift Trades
Shift Trade reminders, if you are giving away a partial shift trade, please indicate it in the comments section. As once a pairing is split, the split portion can be traded without the other person knowing it was a shift trade and that they will not be paid any Trip RIGs. Please provide this courteousey to your fellow Cabin Crew Members and take care of one another.
WS CA 34-20.04 & WR CA 34-17.04:The MDPC will not be applied to any duty period which was shortened as a result of a partial Shift Trade. The Trip RIG will not be applied to any pairing which is modified as a result of a partial Shift Trade.
Save the Dates
Special Membership Meeting (SMM)
July 4, 2023
To view the meeting minutes and video recording, please log into the CUPE website, once logged in, on the right side lower down click the button 'Previous GMM/SMM/Townhalls'
Townhall - Informal
July 5th, 2023
To view the video recording, please log into the CUPE website, once logged in, on the right side lower down click the button 'Previous GMM/SMM/Townhalls'
General Membership Meeting (GMM)
November 8, 2023 1100PT/1200MT/1400ET - Sign Up Here
Open only to Members in Good Standing
When you sign into the meeting meeting the day of, please ensure your first and last name, and your employee number is showing. Otherwise you cannot be verified and will be denied entry into the meeting.
**DO NOT USE YOUR WORK EMAIL ADDRESS**
May 2023 GMM video recording and meeting minutes is on our website, after you have logged in, you can click here for quick access.
Galley Gossip
(Visit the Galley Gossip Wall on our website to see previous submissions and answers)
Galley Gossip: As released in the WestJet Live event on June 15, it was shown that the MAX-10 will not have a mid-cabin lav so that more seats can be fit in the cabin. The lineups for the lavs are already horrible. What can be done about this?
Answer: The Union can only enforce what is in the bargained Collective Agreement and what is in the Canadian Labor Code. Please provide this feedback to the Employer via the appropriate reporting channels.
Galley Gossip: Crew Meals- Can we get crew meals on US flights? It's so hard to pack food when the US & CAD agriculture directives keep changing and varies from one airport to another. Also some of our '37 flights are the same stage length as '87 flights that receive crew meals so perhaps that could be revisited as well. 🤷🏻♀️
Answer: The Employer only desires to do monetary bargaining at the designated bargaining time. The current Collective Agreement expires Dec.31, 2025. Each September non-monetary items can be bargained, keeping in mind, many things will have a monetary side, due to labor or implementation on the Employer side.
Galley Gossip: Swoop fa’s are being told by pilots that were going to lose our jobs when the companies “merge”? Is there any truth to this?
Answer: The Employer has advised that no one will lose their jobs due to the merger of Swoop (WO)
On behalf of your Local 4070 Executives:
President, Alia Hussain
Vice President, Tyson Conrod
Recording Secretary, Calvin Gautschi
Secretary-Treasurer, Alex Grigoriev
Swoop Base VP, Sherrie Moore
WestJet Encore YYC/YYZ Base VP, Adrian Dayrit
WestJet YEG/YVR Base VP, Chris Brewer
WestJet YYC Base VP, Brandy Whitby
WestJet YYZ Base VP, Bryan Hansraj