Sunwing/Westjet

[ALPApolicy]

I don't wish to be a dick, but here is an excerpt from the WJA MEC Policy Manual:

3.5 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

3.5.1 MEC CHAIR (Master Chair)

The MEC Chair shall carry out the duties and responsibilities as prescribed by the ALPA Constitution and By-Laws ...The MEC Chair shall be:

3.5.1.4 The Association representative at the airline for the purpose of furthering and implementing
the objectives and policies of the ALPA Board of Directors (BOD)...

From the ALPA Constitution and Bylaws:

SECTION 2 - JURISDICTION AND DUTIES

The Board of Directors is the highest governing body of the Association. It shall be vested with the control of the Association, its general management and business affairs. Its decision, whether rendered by ballot or in session, shall be the final governing decision of the Association and shall be binding...on all members of the Association...

ARTICLE VIII - HEARING AND APPEAL PROCEDURES

SECTION 1 - HEARING OF MEMBERSHIP CASES

A. Any member (including any Inactive member) may be disciplined, fined, or expelled for any of the following acts:

(1) Willful violation of this Constitution and By-Laws.

(3) Willful disobedience or failure to comply with an established policy or any other decision of the Board of Directors...

In 1956, the following resolution was presented to the ALPA Board of Directors for voting at its 14th Biennial Convention:

BE IT RESOLVED that the Home Office be instructed to use every means at their command in standardizing for prospective application two sections of all pilot working agreements,

(1) Specifically, the part of the Seniority General which establishes hiring procedure and position on the seniority list, should be standardized so that in the event of mergers, acquisitions, sales, etc., a common foundation will exist, thereby eliminating future controversy on this subject.

SENIORITY - GENERAL

(a) Seniority of a pilot shall be based upon the length of service as a pilot with the Company.

(b) Seniority shall begin to accrue from the date a pilot is first employed by the Company as an air line pilot...

From Section 40 Collective Bargaining, page 25 of the ALPA Administrative Manual, latest revision (10/31/19):

2. STANDARDIZATION OF SENIORITY SECTIONS
SOURCE - Board 1956

ALPA is instructed to use every means at its command in standardizing for prospective application two Sections of all agreements.

a. Specifically, the part of the Seniority General Section which establishes hiring procedures and establishment of position on the seniority list, shall be standardized so that in the event of mergers, acquisitions, sales, etc., a common foundation will exist, thereby eliminating future controversy on this subject.

b. Specifically, the Section in all agreements pertaining to sales, mergers, acquisitions, etc., shall be standardized and encompass adequate legal force and effect consistent with appropriate public law.

3. SENIORITY - GENERAL

SOURCE - Board 1956; AMENDED - Executive Board December 1971; Administrative January 1998 (Canada Reference Added); Executive Board september 1998

a. Seniority of a pilot shall be based upon the length of service as a pilot with the Company.

b. Seniority shall begin to accrue from the date upon which a pilot employed by the Company as a pilot begins initial operational training required to perform such duties in airline operations...

Perhaps all of this work here doesn't matter. The Merger Committees will deal with this. Perhaps having a non-DOH seniority list and a PTA agreement giving super-seniority to non-bargaining unit members is okay. Perhaps having a couple of different seniority lists floating around, with the important one not available, is not a big deal.

I do know a few things. The WJA MEC Executives and the ALPA President at the time the CBA with its non-DOH seniority list was signed, and the PTA was signed are no longer around. Neither is the WestJet VP CK who collaborated with the WJPA to produce the One List and the WPDL that no one else in the world, in any industry, has ever dreamt up. Where are they now?

I do know who has to deal with the mess. It is us. "We have met the enemy and he is us." The Company can wash its hands of the issue and claim its a union problem. And it is. All our union needed to do 4 years ago was follow its own goddamned rules and we wouldn't be in this predicament. Is Herndon going to magically ride to the rescue now?

Should this sale complete, the merger committees are going to have to sit down and deal with some unpleasant realities. The WestJet MC is going to have to admit that they come to the table with a piece of dogshit they created that no amount of polishing will fix.

[imjustlurking]

-removed-

[JetA Burner]

I really do appreciate your input as of late on the topic. I did some nerding/history on your posts and you point blank called the merger and called how messy it would be.

I appreciate the incite into my (our) future. Not that anyone has a real clue what the arbitrator answer will be, but I appreciate the guidance and indication.

I think there are a large chunk of us excited for the future of WestJet/Sunwing(Travel Group) and we want this to succeed. I know I am excited . Bring on the positives and everything Sunwing has to offer.

[ALPApolicy]

I have edited my post responding to my lurking friend.

[Schooner69A]

"He's far more believable than Putin but has the same credibility."

When the argument is lost, the loser resorts to innuendo and slander...

[imjustlurking]

As of late all of Johns comments are insightful, intelligent and extremely well researched.

He's far more believable than Putin but has the same credibility.

Gosh it was only two weeks ago you were on here posting how it bugs some people that you are so optimistic. Then I noticed a 180.

I won't take your personal attacks seriously because if you had an intelligent, well thought out rebuttal, you would post it. Instead, you offer personal attacks.

I have you figured out to a T.

Oh @#$!, no. I'm sorry... I thought he was referring to John Aaron.

That was a dumb mistake on my part. I am sorry for my mistake and I am sorry John.

[ALPApolicy]

I have edited my response above to my lurking friend. It was a case of mistaken identity.

All forces: STAND DOWN FROM ACTION STATIONS. I REPEAT STAND DOWN FROM ACTION STATIONS.

[Canadaflyer46]

He's far more believable than Putin but has the same credibility.

Gosh it was only two weeks ago you were on here posting how it bugs some people that you are so optimistic. Then I noticed a 180.

I won't take your personal attacks seriously because if you had an intelligent, well thought out rebuttal, you would post it. Instead, you offer personal attacks.

I have you figured out to a T.

Oh @#$!, no. I'm sorry... I thought he was referring to (edited at request to remove name).

That was a dumb mistake on my part. I am sorry for my mistake and I am sorry.

Hopefully now you've realized which (edited at request to remove name) we were referring to. I don't believe you'll find anyone on these boards who will call out (edited at request) by name in reference, you'd have to be crazy! WJ pilots have been fired for lesser thing in recent times.

[ALPApolicy]

I just posted in the WestJet sub-forum that this morning I submitted to the WSW/WJA MEC my request to serve the bargaining unit membership in the role of Merger Commitee member, including offering to be the Committee Chair.

I will not know for several days or weeks if my nomination will be accepted but in the event it is I am going to disappear from my public profile here. I will probably ask Joe to deactivate my profile.

I think I have thoroughly canvassed the extent of the problem on the Westjet/Swoop side of the table in the event we actually have to sit down and arrive at a fair result. I know I have expressed the opinion here that this issue will go to arbitration, but that was because I wasn't envisioning myself participating in the process. On further thought, I believe I am uniquely able to navigate the issues on our side of the table as a result of bearing witness to how we got here and vociferously challenging the MEC and ALPA when they appeared to be heading for dangerous territory ("Thar be Dragons") and having very, very thoroughly sought out as much primary evidence as possible on the issue of seniority list construction, airline pilot mergers, common employer and ALPA policy (hence the moniker).

I, like many level headed members of my bargaining unit, believe we can come to a negotiated settlement once both sides have had a chance to offer their opinions and receive same from across the table. Lawyers should not be part of the process.

Until there is a decision on my nomination, I will continue my practice of posting here and popping in the Telegram chat for WJS/WSW pilots for a sprinkling of my salty wisdom and perspective.

I really do hope I am chosen. I want to be part of the process that brings closure to this stage of the merger, should it happen, and then be around to make a bunch of new acquaintances while renewing old friendships as we finish off our careers together.

John

[imjustlurking]

Gosh it was only two weeks ago you were on here posting how it bugs some people that you are so optimistic. Then I noticed a 180.

I won't take your personal attacks seriously because if you had an intelligent, well thought out rebuttal, you would post it. Instead, you offer personal attacks.

I have you figured out to a T.

Oh @#$!, no. I'm sorry... I thought he was referring to another person.

That was a dumb mistake on my part. I am sorry for my mistake and I am sorry John.

Hopefully now you've realized which John we were referring to. I don't believe you'll find anyone on these boards who will call out VPs by name in reference, you'd have to be crazy! WJ pilots have been fired for lesser thing in recent times. Calling out by name in reference to a mass-murdering Russian dictator...now that would be even more mind blowing

To be clear, I am not accusing anybody of murder.

My comment was to read "the promises being made by management are being seen as hollow."

[Arnie Pye]

What you guys forget is that both companies are growing and soon to be actively hiring again. Both were actively hiring prior to the pandemic. Ratios for date of hire don't necessarily get enacted just because of the size of the company being bought out.

WestJet has 150 airplanes and needs X number of captains today.
Sunwing has 40 airplanes and needs y number of captains today.

Assuming a temporary fence goes up for a year or two, both companies will likely have more airplanes two years from now creating a requirement for z number of captains (z>x+y).
If lists were merged strictly by DOH, no one loses a captain seat and no one's upgrade gets delayed. The only thing that gets a littler muddier is perhaps a high seniority Sunwing pilot bumping someone off of the 787 or an Encore pilot delaying a move up to mainline.

Now, it's not a perfect analogy because WestJet management has got multiple brands with different flow agreements to get to mainline etc.

Don't let management use this as a tool to further divide and conquer the employee group.

Will a combined WJ / SW still run the same number of flights to every Caribbean island or Mexican seaside tourist trap?

I doubt it.

There will be a rationalization of capacity to drive yields and efficiencies.

Given that, how can Z be greater than X+Y?

Because those planes aren't going anywhere. Lease payments are still due and maybe instead of doing a YYZ-VRA, they do a YYC-YQR instead. They will be redeployed from markets that are over served into ones that are underserved. I don't see WestJet giving up any planes or pilots. With demand what it is now and what it was in the before times they won't give up a single tail or pilot. They would never be able to get them back.

[boeingboy]

Because those planes aren't going anywhere. Lease payments are still due and maybe instead of doing a YYZ-VRA, they do a YYC-YQR instead. They will be redeployed from markets that are over served into ones that are underserved. I don't see WestJet giving up any planes or pilots. With demand what it is now and what it was in the before times they won't give up a single tail or pilot. They would never be able to get them back.

I dont see any Westjet planes being painted orange or supplementing SWG. More likely it would be Swoop planes....or here's a thought - Sunwing gets more tails and some go to swoop in the summer. The Swoop and Sunwing aircraft are identical..the mainline fleet would not fit in their current configurations.

Or maybe just add more tails to SWG - There have already been hints dropped with SWG going to Hawaii, Vegas, Orlando, California.....

Any way you slice it - more tails are going to have to be acquired by the group for one company or another.

[imjustlurking]

Because those planes aren't going anywhere. Lease payments are still due and maybe instead of doing a YYZ-VRA, they do a YYC-YQR instead. They will be redeployed from markets that are over served into ones that are underserved. I don't see WestJet giving up any planes or pilots. With demand what it is now and what it was in the before times they won't give up a single tail or pilot. They would never be able to get them back.

I dont see any Westjet planes being painted orange or supplementing SWG. More likely it would be Swoop planes....or here's a thought - Sunwing gets more tails and some go to swoop in the summer. The Swoop and Sunwing aircraft are identical..the mainline fleet would not fit in their current configurations.

Or maybe just add more tails to SWG - There have already been hints dropped with SWG going to Hawaii, Vegas, Orlando, California.....

Any way you slice it - more tails are going to have to be acquired by the group for one company or another.

Sunwing Airlines as an airline has little value past it's physical assets. The only reason WestJet would have purchased the airline is so that they could also purchase Sunwing Vacations.

As it stands now, Sunwing Airlines is a charter airline that almost solely charters it's aircraft to Sunwing Vacations. It's purpose is to fulfill Sunwing Vacations vacation packages.

[sarg]

Because those planes aren't going anywhere. Lease payments are still due and maybe instead of doing a YYZ-VRA, they do a YYC-YQR instead. They will be redeployed from markets that are over served into ones that are underserved. I don't see WestJet giving up any planes or pilots. With demand what it is now and what it was in the before times they won't give up a single tail or pilot. They would never be able to get them back.

I dont see any Westjet planes being painted orange or supplementing SWG. More likely it would be Swoop planes....or here's a thought - Sunwing gets more tails and some go to swoop in the summer. The Swoop and Sunwing aircraft are identical..the mainline fleet would not fit in their current configurations.

Or maybe just add more tails to SWG - There have already been hints dropped with SWG going to Hawaii, Vegas, Orlando, California.....

Any way you slice it - more tails are going to have to be acquired by the group for one company or another.

Sunwing Airlines as an airline has little value past it's physical assets. The only reason WestJet would have purchased the airline is so that they could also purchase Sunwing Vacations.

As it stands now, Sunwing Airlines is a charter airline that almost solely charters it's aircraft to Sunwing Vacations. It's purpose is to fulfill Sunwing Vacations vacation packages.

Or they bought 450ish pilot so the have a supply for expansion and the vacation company is a bonus.

[boeingboy]

I dont see any Westjet planes being painted orange or supplementing SWG. More likely it would be Swoop planes....or here's a thought - Sunwing gets more tails and some go to swoop in the summer. The Swoop and Sunwing aircraft are identical..the mainline fleet would not fit in their current configurations.

Or maybe just add more tails to SWG - There have already been hints dropped with SWG going to Hawaii, Vegas, Orlando, California.....

Any way you slice it - more tails are going to have to be acquired by the group for one company or another.

Sunwing Airlines as an airline has little value past it's physical assets. The only reason WestJet would have purchased the airline is so that they could also purchase Sunwing Vacations.

As it stands now, Sunwing Airlines is a charter airline that almost solely charters it's aircraft to Sunwing Vacations. It's purpose is to fulfill Sunwing Vacations vacation packages.

Or they bought 450ish pilot so the have a supply for expansion and the vacation company is a bonus.

So neither of you understand anything - as with most people.

Westjet didn't go buy anything. They have no money. This was all Steven Hunter's deal, and I'll be willing to bet most of the negotiating was done between SH and GS - who then told the WJ BOD what was going down as well as providing the 100's of millions cash plus the millions of shares.

This was not a simple we bought you deal. SWG didn't need a deal to survive - we needed a deal to grow. It was a package deal from the start and if SH didn't get what he wanted, he would have waited until he found the right deal. It's been said many times that Westjet vacations is folding into the new tour group with Sunwing vacations - both to be marketed under their respective brands. Sunwing airlines is a division of Sunwing vacations and will remain so. (apparently with no integration...we will see about that) All of these companies fall under the direction of SH as CEO....and yes - Sunwing airlines will grow into other markets as I said above. it's already been hinted at as a way to keep the fleet from bouncing back and forth....besides - lots of those are sold by the vacation side - so who do you think will do some of the flying?

[ALPApolicy]

I just read this in the PTA and realized the implication:

2.02 Once this LOA becomes effective, any Pilot who is hired at WestJet, Swoop, or Encore
shall be assigned a seniority number based on date of hire at the respective airline.

In the event that common employer is declared between SunWing and Swoop/WestJet. All that needs to be done for the merger negotiation is to add the word "SunWing" to the above section and all the other relevant sections and then SunWing will be added to the WestJet group pilot "Seniority List" by their Date of Hire at SunWing.

Merger negotations complete!

(I suggest we form merger committees anyway and then the committee members can get paid to goof off for a year or so, do a few zoom meetings every couple of days and update their respective MEC's every so often and life will be grand! I am doubling down on my efforts to get on that merger committee...)

[TeePeeCreeper]

(I suggest we form merger committees anyway and then the committee members can get paid to goof off for a year or so, do a few zoom meetings every couple of days and update their respective MEC's every so often and life will be grand! I am doubling down on my efforts to get on that merger committee...)

Man oh man aren’t I happy to not have a chance at being represented in that fashion.

“Paid to goof off for a week”?

Yeah you are certainly not the candidate I would vote for given a chance with those type of comments.

I trust your fellow brethren will feel the same way with your bravado given that some of them are still on layoff notice as you typed what you did. Disgusting really.

TPC

[imjustlurking]

I just read this in the PTA and realized the implication:

2.02 Once this LOA becomes effective, any Pilot who is hired at WestJet, Swoop, or Encore
shall be assigned a seniority number based on date of hire at the respective airline.

In the event that common employer is declared between SunWing and Swoop/WestJet. All that needs to be done for the merger negotiation is to add the word "SunWing" to the above section and all the other relevant sections and then SunWing will be added to the WestJet group pilot "Seniority List" by their Date of Hire at SunWing.

Merger negotations complete!

(I suggest we form merger committees anyway and then the committee members can get paid to goof off for a year or so, do a few zoom meetings every couple of days and update their respective MEC's every so often and life will be grand! I am doubling down on my efforts to get on that merger committee...)

I say that we print the WS/WO/WR list out on 8.5*11 paper, pin it to a wall in random order, and get the Sunwing pilots to each throw a dart at the wall blindfolded. The closest spot to where the dart lands is where they get slotted in.

[ALPApolicy]

Yeah you are certainly not the candidate I would vote for given a chance with those type of comments.

I trust your fellow brethren will feel the same way with your bravado given that some of them are still on layoff notice as you typed what you did. Disgusting really.

TPC

Oh brother. Can you not at least spot satire? Of course there is more to a merger than blindly following a line in a contract to place everyone on a combined least by their date of hire.

Try to see the big picture of what I am painting here. There seem to be some fundamental issues with the way that ALPA and the WJA MEC have designed seniority to work within our bargaining unit. My statement above was a (potentially weak) tongue in cheek answer to a complex situation.

[sarg]

Sunwing Airlines as an airline has little value past it's physical assets. The only reason WestJet would have purchased the airline is so that they could also purchase Sunwing Vacations.

As it stands now, Sunwing Airlines is a charter airline that almost solely charters it's aircraft to Sunwing Vacations. It's purpose is to fulfill Sunwing Vacations vacation packages.

Or they bought 450ish pilot so the have a supply for expansion and the vacation company is a bonus.

So neither of you understand anything - as with most people.

Westjet didn't go buy anything. They have no money. This was all Steven Hunter's deal, and I'll be willing to bet most of the negotiating was done between SH and GS - who then told the WJ BOD what was going down as well as providing the 100's of millions cash plus the millions of shares.

This was not a simple we bought you deal. SWG didn't need a deal to survive - we needed a deal to grow. It was a package deal from the start and if SH didn't get what he wanted, he would have waited until that comment found the right deal. It's been said many times that Westjet vacations is folding into the new tour group with Sunwing vacations - both to be marketed under their respective brands. Sunwing airlines is a division of Sunwing vacations and will remain so. (apparently with no integration...we will see about that) All of these companies fall under the direction of SH as CEO....and yes - Sunwing airlines will grow into other markets as I said above. it's already been hinted at as a way to keep the fleet from bouncing back and forth....besides - lots of those are sold by the vacation side - so who do you think will do some of the flying?

Hit a nerve with that comment, did I?

I guess you can add yourself to the list of people who don't understand anything.

From the press release as per yahoo finance:
CALGARY, AB and TORONTO, ON, March 2, 2022 /CNW/ - WestJet and Sunwing announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement under which the WestJet Group of companies will acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines.

You're right in stating the WestJet didn't buy anything, but the WestJet Group of companies did. Acquire means exactly that, whether it was all cash or all stock or a combination of each, the listed parts of the Sunwing group were bought by the WestJet Group. Whether SWG needed the deal to survive or not, the deal happened and as a business owner the "right deal" might be the one that allows you to walk away with a profit.

What I'm willing to bet is that GS didn't make this deal, and not have control of the new greater group of companies. WestJet vacations is a division of the WestJet group, if it makes more sense to have the like part of the business unit grouped together, Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations. It makes sense to have the airlines grouped together. How the airlines will be operated and be branded going forward is the big question for pilots.

On a final note SH will be the CEO of the new combined vacation company. CEO's service at the discretion of the BOD, which means they can be fired if the BOD so desires.

[ALPApolicy]

This discussion about who bought whom doesn't matter if the topic is merging a seniority list. In the AC/Canadi>n merger, abritator Morton Mitchnick released a merged seniority list award and that award was appealed by the ALPA pilots at Canadian. The Board found that Mitchnick had not followed the Board's principles in seniority list integration procedures and found that he had not supplied an explanation of the principles he had used in his decision.

Primarily the Board found that Mitchnick's extensive discussion of the Canadi>n financial condition just prior to the merger was not relevant, if I remember correctly.

We are all free to puff out our chests and yell "My dad is stronger than you dad!" but it isn't going to mean anything, if we are discussing a merged seniority list. If we are not discussing a merged seniority list then by all means, carry on.

[elite]

This situation makes clear why PTAs are not common practice in the industry. We work in an industry that only rewards time at the current airline for career progression and growth. Naturally under these conditions no one wants to give it away to pilots working elsewhere.

It appears the PTA served to help the company with recruitment, and enticed Encore applicants to accept the offer under sub-standard conditions, and WJ (senior) pilots got the protection in lay-off scenarios. However this arrangement will soon unravel during the merger as to preserve it will have to come as the expense of declaring WestJet and Encore common employer which will clearly bring substantial cost to the company negating its benefit altogether.

At the same time, it is unlikely that Sunwing pilots will accept pilots at another airline and another bargaining unit ahead of them on the seniority list. They can successfully challenge it in court. Furthermore, WJ senior pilots will also likely lose their appetite for the PTA because its existence will make a DOH merger very unlikely and a ratio merger will dilute the ranks of the senior pilots and their coveted B787 spots. Therefore, as is usually the case, market forces will organically bring the PTA to an end. The question would be how to move forward with the merger and integration of seniority lists.

If the PTA is no more and WJ presents the Sunwing pilots with a DOH list for merger, it is more likely that Sunwing pilots may be content and also not contest representation of ALPA (which is a big bargaining chip they have). Under this scenario a relatively simple merger of lists based on DOH and combining Sunwing operations with Swoop, will be likely. And standard “no bump, no flush” will protect everyone’s status and pay, while requiring the minimum number of fences since the 787 spots, precious to senior WJ pilots, will be naturally preserved. Both parties will likely be happy (and equally unhappy) with this solution as it will sustain growth unfettered by labour disputes.

[FlyingMonkey]

Killing the PTA doesn’t remove Encore pilots from their seniority shared with WJ and Swoop. The language in the PTA states that any member of the agreement can move to cancel it. However it also states that everyone presently on the “one list” will maintain the seniority number they have when/if it is cancelled. So everyone currently on it will be grandfathered in. The 500 plus Encore pilots will not lose their seniority simply because the PTA is cancelled, only new hires after the PTA is cancelled.

[ALPApolicy]

However this arrangement will soon unravel during the merger as to preserve it will have to come as the expense of declaring WestJet and Encore common employer which will clearly bring substantial cost to the company negating its benefit altogether.

As I understand the aims of the Code and the two previous rulings of the CIRB regarding a common employer declaration between Air Canada and its wholly owned (at the time) subsidiaries Air BC, Air Ontaro, Air Alliance, Alliance, and Air Nova, the likelihood of common employer between WestJet, Swoop, and Encore is a whisker's width from zero.

As the Board stated here in the 1999 common employer request by ALPA:

108 Many of the same parties participated in the 1989 Air Canada case. Pilot seniority issues aside, this is the identical issue that was before the previous Board, that is, whether Air Canada and its connectors ought to be declared to constitute a single employer. In 1989, for reasons with which this panel agrees, the Board decided that, although the criteria of common control and direction of section 35 had been met, it refused to issue the single employer declaration and dismissed the application.



109 There have been no significant changes in the airline industry. This Board sees no reasons to reverse this decision and thereby destabilize labour relations in that industry. Air Canada and its family of connectors constitute a heavily unionized work environment with a complex array of bargaining units, bargaining agents and numerous work jurisdictions, and collective agreements. All the trade unions participated in the 1989 case and had their say. When the status quo was maintained, the employers and their unions carried on as before. The organization of employees, the development of collective bargaining strategies, the administration of grievances, the development of economic issues and the renewal of collective agreements have all taken place within the labour relations environment confirmed by the Board’s decision. In the decade that followed, the decision became an integral part of, and moulded the climate of, labour relations at Air Canada and its connectors. As expressed by the CAW: “All the parties’ activities have taken place in the shadow of the Board Decision.”



110 In the intervening years, other trade unions and employers have relied on that decision in the conduct and organization of their workplace. Those are reliant interests that ought to be protected. They have a reasonable expectation that, in the absence of major and significant corporate restructuring that undermines bargaining relationships, a comparable structure will continue to be sanctioned by the Board. This may be a new Board; however, the principles and spirit of the Code have not changed.



111 The principles enshrined in section 35 jurisprudence were first set out in the Canadian Press case. Other cases have refined their meaning, but the core principles have not changed. Nor have they been overturned by the higher courts. Recent modifications to the Code have avoided fettering the Board’s discretion. These principles as they have been applied provide a certainty on which the parties rely in the conduct of their affairs. Out of the Board’s earlier decisions dealing with these employers has come labour relations stability and certainty that have affected thousands of workers, within and outside the companies. The Board must respect the structure that parties have created for themselves and that it has approved as appropriate bargaining units. In the absence of compelling evidence and argument, the Board will not lightly dismantle a bargaining structure that has served the parties well, all for the sake of a few who seek to advance their career prospects.

This is now well travelled territory for the Board. In the twenty years since this decision, the industry has relied on the Board's previous rulings to guide themselves on how to organize employee groups in mainline and connector airline relationships. Indeed, twice in 2017, ALPA approached the Board and under no pressure to do so, organized the employees exactly in the fashion it (or its predecessor, CALPA) had done so many years ago in the Air Canada family.

In the five years since the pilots at WJA and WEN were organized into separate bargaining units at ALPA's request, labour relations peace has been established. Although not a perfect relationship, the parties have learned to live with each other and both pilot groups have robust and effective dispute mechsnisms in place to deal with disputes under the respective CBA's they were able to negotiate.

Absent some extremely well hidden evidence of a loss of bargaining rights or bargained rights by either pilot group, there is no labour relations purpose justifying the Board granting a common employer declaration, in my at times hubristic but non lawyer opinion.

[ALPApolicy]

Killing the PTA doesn’t remove Encore pilots from their seniority shared with WJ and Swoop. The language in the PTA states that any member of the agreement can move to cancel it. However it also states that everyone presently on the “one list” will maintain the seniority number they have when/if it is cancelled. So everyone currently on it will be grandfathered in. The 500 plus Encore pilots will not lose their seniority simply because the PTA is cancelled, only new hires after the PTA is cancelled.

I haven't seen a seniority list for the WSW/WJA bargaining unit but it is described in our CBA as:

Pilot Seniority List (PSL/WPSL)

The PSL is the list of pilots who are employed by WestJet, and Swoop.

In the CBA, I can find no mention of Encore pilots having a position on the PSL. Therefore, I am unsure what you mean when you say "Encore pilots will not lose their seniority". With respect to the WSW/WJA bargaining unit, and I could be wrong, but I am not sure Encore pilots have any seniority to lose.

In the CBA, seniority is defined as:

Seniority
The position a pilot holds on the Pilot Seniority List (PSL/WPSL)