Newsletter - June 2023
Topics in this Newsletter:
President's Updates
Vice President's Update
June Acknowledgments
How Do Grievances Work
Commuter Committee Update
CUPE 4070 Website
Save the Dates
Galley Gossip
President's Update
Dear Members,
A quick update:
Informal Coalition of Unions of WestJet AP
As a result of several WestJet AP employee groups unionizing, we have put together an informal meeting that we attend monthly to collaborate and discuss similar issues within our groups. We are currently meeting with the Pilots, AMEs & skilled trades, CSAs, and Dispatch. A recent example of collaboration between us was during the Pilots Strike. We met and fanned out information so that it could be consistently shared with all groups in a timely manner.
Preparing for our Future. CA2-2025
As we get closer to bargaining 2025 for CA-2, we aim to begin a broader conversation about negotiations and work on education pieces for our Members regarding the bargaining process. Stay tuned for more. #beready2025 #ourturn2025
Town Hall July 5th
We will be hosting an informal Townhall again as part of our ongoing commitment for communications with our Members. Sign up is further down in this email. We will follow the same process as previously, where we will request questions be submitted in advance. Once we have covered those we will leave some time for questions to be asked live! Our commitment is to do this every quarter. Open to all Members.
Vice President Election
We will be having a by-election for the role of Vice President CUPE 4070. I would encourage potential candidates to contact an Officer of the Union to explore the role, expectations and responsibilities and to review the applicable bylaws. This role is critical to the heart of what we do as a Union. The Vice President is responsible for all Units' Stewards and all grievances and arbitrations. At this stage in our history there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to create infrastructure, processes to create consistency, and support to ensure all Officers engaged in this are set up for success. If this sounds like something that would interest you please reach out and inquire further.
ALPA TA Townhalls/Ratification Vote
The Pilots TA is up for a vote in the very near future. We have begun to look at some of the more pressing issues from within the document and are awaiting ratification to commit to a deeper dive into the material presented.
Policy Development
As communicated previously, we have been working on building on repeatable processes and developing general infrastructure for the Union. The need for these documents to be developed was a top priority of the Board. Some of the policies or processes are noted below. By documenting our current practices and building on them based on our learning as we grow as a Union, will allow for smoother transitions and a value add for our Membership.
Electoral Officer
Returning Officer
Privacy Policy
Laptop Policy
Appeal Board Process
Grievance Process
Transition Process
Transition Policy
One Year Anniversary
On May 16th I celebrated my one year anniversary of being elected to our Union- this would also be the morning I received the phone call from ALPA advising me they had issued the strike notice. To say the least that was a very unique way for me to mark one year.
I would like to thank the membership for your trust and for the opportunity to lead our group during such a dynamic time in our history. I have dedicated my time to learning. The Board and I remain committed to communicating, engaging, and advocating on behalf our members.
Alia Hussain
CUPE 4070 President
Vice President's Update
It is with heavy heart that I announce my resignation from my role as Vice-President of our Local 4070 for personal reasons. I intend to stay until the end of June, to ensure a proper transition.
I was elected this January and although my stay was short, I know that our Membership benefited from my involvement. I believe that I will be leaving my position in a better and more organized place for my Successor, who will take over the overall management of all grievances in our three units.
The Local will continue to have my support as a Member, I wish them the best in representing our three Units: Swoop, WestJet Encore, and WestJet. It has been an honour to represent our Cabin Crew Members.
There will be an election to fill my role in the coming days.
Charles Brochu
CUPE 4070 Vice President
June Acknowledgments
Juneteenth
Juneteenth is on June 19th each year. This day commemorates African American freedom and an end to slavery. This day is becoming more recognized in Canada and around the world, not just in the USA.
Canada, has officially recognized August 1rst as Emancipation Day.
Please visit www.juneteenth.com for some history of this day.
Pride Month
June is pride month around the world. 2SLGBTQI+ and allies come together to celebrate and to bring awareness.
Just in the past couple days Uganda's President signed one of the world's harshest laws against the community. Which includes the death penalty.
The fight to be allowed to live, to be safe from any type of harm is still prevalent in the world today for the 2SLGBTQI+ community. We still see violence against the community in Canada. Just in June 2020, the USA Supreme court ruled you cannot fire someone for being 2SLGBTQI+, with some loopholes though. We see our neighbours to the south in constant battle of retracting 2SLGBTQI+ rights and laws, with the threat of some starting in Canada. The battle being never ending, progressing and regressing.
Please stand up and speak out for what is right for all groups, be the support we all need for each other.
How Do Grievances Work
A grievance is a violation of the Collective Agreement or an applicable article, act, policy legislation or intent. (ex.Human Rights Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Labour Relations Act, Canadian Labour Code-CLC)
A grievance is a mechanism that is unique to labour law. It is built into a Collective Agreement. It is the way that one party enforces its rights under the Agreement, if the other party doesn’t do what it is supposed to do.
1. If you have a grievance, your first step is to have an informal discussion with your direct leader. If necessary, CC your Union on the email or advise them via an email if it was a phone call or an in person discussion. (**exception for WR & WS if it is a monthly scheduling dispute, please follow that process and fill out that form**).
2. If it is not resolved by your direct Leader, your Base VP will review with you the alleged violation to determine the merits, and discuss if it will proceed to a step 1 grievance.
3. If it went to a step 1 grievance and was not resolved, your Base VP will inform you and discuss if it will proceed to a step 2 grievance.
4. If it went to a step 2 grievance and was not resolved, the grievance will then by heard by the Grievance Committee. The Base VP will present the file to the Grievance Committee and based on the facts of the case, a decision will be made at this third phase to either proceed to Arbitration or to withdraw the grievance. The decision is based on several merits.
5. If the grievance is referred to arbitration, CUPE 4070 Vice President (the Lead Steward) will work with the National CUPE Representative and the Legal Team of CUPE. The path to arbitration is not linear. A resolution can be achieved with the Company prior to reaching arbitration. Mediation can also occur, where both parties can have more control on the resolution prior to reaching arbitration. When a grievance reaches arbitration, all the facts are presented to the Arbitrator and their decision is binding.
6. If a decision to proceed or withdraw a grievance is opposed by the Grievor, the Grievor has the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Appeals Board.
At all times, the grievance carriage rights is carried by the Local, not the Grievor. The Executive Board has authority over all grievances.
Commuter Committee Update
Commuter Committee Update -No Update
If you are unable to make your report time due to commuting, please familiarize yourself with WR & WS Collective Agreement article 38-2.01.
To contact the Commuter Committee, use the contact page on the website or email them at commuting@cupe4070.ca
WR - Sarah Lowe
WS YVR - Corie Ives
WS YYC - David Orsi-Nault
WS YYZ - Sonia Ouellette
CUPE 4070 Website
We have been working on the website to organize and create an easier flow to get you to what you need.
The Local is also working on creating a calendar of special dates to be recognized. We try our best, but we do not know all the dates there are. We want to be diligent to ensure none are missed. If we miss any please let us know so we can recognize it going forward. We ask for your help to submit any special dates via the Special Date Form.
Under the Resources page on the website, you can view courses you can take for free. Please check them out here.
Please take a look through the ongoing redesigning of the website.
Save the Dates
Townhall - Informal
July 5th, 2023 1100PT/1200MT/1400ET - Sign Up Here
Open to all Members of CUPE 4070
Questions you submit will be answered during the townhall. Submit them here.
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: Why are pilots allowed to wear their uniform during picketing and Cabin Crews were discouraged to do so?
Answer: The Pilots were bargaining and therefor it was permitted. Under the law there are different rules that apply to a union actively engaged in collective bargaining. Our contract was in full force and effect therefore we were required to adhere to all policy and standards. #ourturn2025
Galley Gossip: I heard that pilots are asking as part of bargaining to be able to fly standby to commute before all other employees.. they are also trying to get air Canada pilots to get on flights standby before employees that commute.. is this true and if so why is nothing being mentioned about it. I heard this from 2 pilots. If true is the union looking into this for flight attendants as commuters
Answer: During bargaining, all information is confidential. CUPE 4070 was not advised of any details prior to the release of the TA. Leaking details can be a considered a sign of bad faith bargaining. Standby travel is governed by the corporate policy. Pilots in uniform currently have priority for their respective flight deck jump seats as per their current agreement. We have reviewed their TA and have not seen any language that would indicate they get an overall higher priority coding for STBY travel.
Please also view your CA 19-1.02:
At no time will Flight Attendants/Cabin Personnel/Cabin Crew Members receive lesser travel privileges than any other employee group pursuant to the Company’s Travel Privileges Policy and/or Retirement Policy