Negotiations

[rudder]

August 4, 2023
Grievance Update


Over the past several months we have continued working with the Company to address the pandemic backlog of grievances awaiting arbitration. Please see below a summary of several settlements reached recently.

YYZ Q400 CA Temporary Positions (May-Aug 2023)

The grievance arose from the Company implementing Temporary Positions for YYZ Q400 CA during the months of March, April, and May, as per 5-14.02 of the Collective Agreement. YYC Q400 CA was the donor position for all months. Once the maximum 3-month period for this Temporary Position was exhausted, the Company continued YYZ Q400 CA temporary assignments in June, July and August without requesting an extension from the Association. YVR Q400 CA was used for filling the Temporary Positions subject to grievance. This dispute was referred directly to arbitration.

In a mediated settlement, the Association’s interpretation of 5-14.02 was upheld, meaning the assignment of the 4th, 5th, and 6th month of YYZ Q400 CA Temporary Positions (June, July and August) was a violation of the Collective Agreement. It was agreed the current practice would continue until the end of August, then cease thereafter. The affected Q400 Captains who were assigned a Temporary Position in Toronto during June, July or August will each receive 63 credits for each month they worked in Toronto (prorated for RTB, illness, etc).

Payments for June and July will be made August 10. Payments for August will be made September 10. The settlement payout is contingent on being an active employee on the date of payment.

Temporary Positions (Posting notice prior to bid package)

In 2020, the Association grieved that the Company was not publishing awarded Temporary Positions in the body of the bid package that must be sent out before 23:59 on the 9th of the month. Instead, notice of Temporary Positions was posted in a memo following the bid package publication.

The Company stopped this practice after the grievance was filed. The grievance was resolved with an acknowledgment that the collective agreement was violated.

Pay Rate for Line Checks

In 2021, the Association grieved that since Transport Canada “CAT-B” Authority was replaced with a company delegated “Line Check Pilot” authority, the Company has been subverting their requirement to pay a premium for Training Pilots conducting Line Checks as per 7-10.23(a).

To settle this dispute, the Company has agreed that Training Pilots with Line Check Pilot authority will receive the premium associated with line checks as per 7-10.23(a) in addition to their current 5% TP premium. The Company will retroactively pay Training Pilots who were not paid in accordance with this principle from June 14, 2021.

Non-TP or ACP Pilots Conducting Line Checks from Jumpseat

In 2022, the Association grieved that the Company was violating the Collective Agreement by pre-scheduling non-Training Pilots (Line Pilots with LCP authority) to conduct recurrent line checks from the Jumpseat, in contravention of Section 7-10.10.

To settle this dispute, the Company has agreed that non-TP or non-ACP Pilots will not normally conduct recurrent line checks from the Jumpseat, except in situations where there are no other viable options for the line check to occur and only in extenuating circumstances to prevent the Pilot from disqualification. In such cases the Company will schedule in this manner after prior notification is provided to the Association.

Bid Package Posting Timelines

In 2020 and 2021, the Association filed a series of grievances that monthly bid packages were not released on the timelines required by the Collective Agreement, or amended timelines contemplated in LOU 47.

The grievance was resolved with an acknowledgment that the Collective Agreement was violated, and 30 ALB days to be utilized for volunteers within the MEC committee structure.

Pairing Mix

In 2021, the Association grieved that the Collective Agreement was violated when, after publication of the September Bid Package and completion of Pilot bids, all YZF continuous duty pairings were cancelled thereby breaching the pairing mix provisions of 8-31.07.

The grievance was resolved with an acknowledgment that the Collective Agreement was violated, and 10 ALB days to be utilized for volunteers within the MEC committee structure.

In Solidarity,

[mmm...bacon]

^ From an outsider’s pov, it seems that the Company is just violating the agreement willy-nilly. When they get caught and grieved, they just shrug and say: “Oops, our bad…sorry about that!”
And then, they go on to the next violation…

[cdnavater]

^ From an outsider’s pov, it seems that the Company is just violating the agreement willy-nilly. When they get caught and grieved, they just shrug and say: “Oops, our bad…sorry about that!”
And then, they go on to the next violation…

Sad, never used to be that way, I don’t know if it’s because of the cost of negotiating these items properly or different management over the years.
Obviously, this temp base cost them but some of the other items, big friggen deal, nothing there that will prevent them from trying it again.

[rudder]

^ From an outsider’s pov, it seems that the Company is just violating the agreement willy-nilly. When they get caught and grieved, they just shrug and say: “Oops, our bad…sorry about that!”
And then, they go on to the next violation…

Sad, never used to be that way, I don’t know if it’s because of the cost of negotiating these items properly or different management over the years.
Obviously, this temp base cost them but some of the other items, big friggen deal, nothing there that will prevent them from trying it again.

Actions are being taken because there is a disconnect between aspiration and reality.

Lack of pilots, lack of communication, lack of will, lack of strategy, and lack of team concept.

Unless and until all of these issues are resolved, the only tool is creative interpretation of the CBA (and the CPA).

This is not just a two party issue. It is three party.

A choir singing from different song sheets is not a choir. It is just a bunch of people speaking loudly.

[QKZXKV]

but hey, they got themselves some more ALB days to go pickup OT with

[rudder]

but hey, they got themselves some more ALB days to go pickup OT with

That is perfunctory.

On those related matters, the company cannot take another creative interpretation (or wilful disregard).

Having pilots not based where there is flying cost $$. Not sure who paid (AC?).

One can only assume that basing pilots where the flying will be in 2024 will form part of the next equipment bid, whether that be August or January.

There will not be a ‘return to normal’ (pre-COVID flying). AC has moved on. And the Jazz role will look different.

[rudder]

https://seekingalpha.com/article/462406 ... transcript

Walter Spracklin

Last question here is on the pilot, obviously, a tight labor market on the pilot side. How is that at all -- if at all, affecting your ability to grow capacity? I know you mentioned you had some pilot loss to attrition to other airlines. Curious where they're going? And whether that's constraining you at all either to grow or even to -- on your service level, I know Air Canada and Jazz have had some cancellation spike here on service. Just curious if this is all related to the pilot shortage. And do you see it at all alleviating, perhaps if we do go into a bit of a soft spot here as the economy continues to play itself out?

Colin Copp

Yes, certainly, if we see a bit of a soft landing on the economy and things slow down a little bit that the pressure will come off without question. Right now, what we have today, what we're dealing with today is a lot of movement, a lot of activity, a lot of growth in the other mainline operators or low-cost operators, however, you want to position them. So we are kind of the primary -- we are the primary regional operator in Canada that has every pilot -- everybody wants our pilots, let's put it that way. So there's lots of opportunities for movement. And the one thing we're very good at is training pilots. We have -- Jazz’s got their own in-house training certification. So they do all the certification for the pilots in-house, it's not outsourced. It's a big advantage to the organization, and they're good at doing this. We've done this all of our careers the last 30 years, it's something we're very experienced at. So we're very comfortable with it. It's just that right now there is a lot of movement and we've been moving a lot of pilots. So there is a bit of a constraint but it will recover here shortly as we move forward into next year and later this year, we're going to see some, I would suspect. But it's going to depend on, as you said, what happens in the business big picture wise. If things slow down a little bit then we'll recover really quickly. If the demand continues and we see more growth in the mainline side, we're going to continue to produce lots of new pilots, that's for sure.

Walter Spracklin

Is there -- I just want to just clarify. You said it will recover kind of in either scenario. Is it because you've got a -- do you have some bubble of pilots is on the -- that you're training that will hit soon, or do you just see it resolving itself as you -- under normal course of business?

Colin Copp

It's going to recover no matter what, for sure. It's just a question of timing and demand. So if the flow continues, if we see continued movement, it's going to take a little bit longer. If we don't see that and things start to slow down in the industry over the next year or so then I think it'll recover pretty quick.

Konark Gupta

The last one from me, on the pilot side. So do you have any major coming labor negotiations coming up either on the pilot side or some other unions you have? And how's this whole turnover situation like create difficulty for your customers, and how does it impact your relationship with customers?

Colin Copp

So like we won't ever comment on our pilot negotiations or discussions, obviously, in any significant way. But we have a pretty long history and a track record of always finding solutions and working well with our unions. So you can only expect that in this environment where we have lots of activity, we have lot of flow. We're obviously talking to our unions about certain things and engage with them. So we'll see how things progress over the coming months. But our unions and us and our management team are typically in discussions continuously, especially in an environment like this for sure.

David Ocampo

I just wanted to touch on the pilot shortage, I know we've been asked a bunch of questions there. But I was hoping you guys can walk us through how the flow through agreement with Air Canada works in a little bit more detail. I guess, I'm just really curious if the pilots are contractually obligated to move over to AC if it's in their agreement or not?

Colin Copp

No, there's no obligation for an individual to have to go. It's a process whereby the individual comes into the organization and they're given an opportunity to transition by going through a process, they put their name on a list and so on. It's an automated process and Air Canada then does a review of those individuals and so many vacancies per year…

David Ocampo

I guess if you take a look at the list over the last year or so, just given the shortage or -- are the pilots getting a full fill on their transfer over to AC like if hundred people put their name on the list, hundred people have moved over in the last year?

Colin Copp

Sorry, there's some background noise there, but can you ask that again?

David Ocampo

So I guess if there's a hundred people that put their name on the list to move over to AC in the last year or so, have all a hundred moved over, like a 100% fill rate move over to AC, just given the shortage that you're seeing in the industry right now?

Colin Copp

So the fill rate is based on what the demand Air Canada has. So whatever demand Air Canada decides, like we've given you the numbers basically there, that's been 300 captains there we've moved in the past 12 months, that demand is really set by Air Canada. So we don't have any connection to that in any way. Our job is really just to prepare these individuals and to support the flow. And what it does for us in turn is it provides a great opportunity. It's a leverage point for us when it comes to hiring in the industry. But yes, there's been no real constraint on individuals being able to go. It's been more the other way where we've been providing a lot of pilots to the industry and it's put some pressure on our ability to execute on hours. So we've been working really hard to get that caught up for sure.

David Ocampo

And then just sticking with the same theme here. I mean, you guys talked about lower capacity that you're providing AC just because of the shortage. It does look like AC has looked elsewhere for capacity, at least for the time being. Do you guys think this is a short lived phenomenon and if we fast forward, call it two or three years from now, you'll once again be the sole regional supplier for AC and you can grow that CPA income again?

Colin Copp

Look, we still have exclusivity, there's no question about that and or Canada agrees to that. We came to an agreement for this little bit of extra lift that they had asked for, which made sense for the red team when you look at the bigger picture. So we worked through that with Air Canada and everybody. So we don't really see this as a loss of exclusivity in any way. We continue to have that and have a strong relationship with Air Canada, and we don't see anything really significantly changing as we move forward. Things will change in the industry as far as needs go, Air Canada's needs and what do they need for capacity lift on the regional markets, all that type of stuff. And we will always be there to support that for sure.

Renato Monzon

My last question is on the Jazz pilot. Given that training activities are higher nowadays adjust to onboard new pilots, and given the high levels of attrition to Air Canada and other airlines. What are the cost implications for Chorus, what type of pressure do you expect on margins?

Gary Osborne

So back to the on the CDA piece, we have a fixed margin in place with Air Canada that does not vary regardless of flying. And if you look in our otlook section, we've put -- reminded everybody of that. So from a economic perspective as far as the fixed fee and -- that there is no impact associated with the reduced flying. And back to what Colin talked about earlier, we coordinate very well with Air Canada on the pilot resourcing and scheduling and the other side. So this is something we work very hard with them to make sure that it is coordinated.

[GIVCE!]

Wow. Even Colin has drank the “red team” cool aid. Talk about a head-in-the-sand conference call. They are literally hoping for a recession, still, after all they’ve seen. Too bad no one understands enough about flight deck ops to ask how many captains we’ve trained since loosing the “300”. A pilot is a pilot right? And the pice about PAL? Wow. ‘Sole provider …oh yeah, ….yeah we just gave ‘em alitlle more of what they wanted in violation of the contract with those great pilots and trainers we were just talking about…’. I can tell you first hand the training department is definitely not keeping up the way we used too. Things are going to get really worse in the next 8-12 weeks. Grab your popcorn…
Thanks for the post rudder… I’ll go back and listen for a laugh.
G

[North Shore]

Sounds like he’s proud of the training that Jazz provides - but completely oblivious that it’s pretty much for other carriers…

[Inverted2]

They don’t seem to be doing very many upgrades on the Embraer lately. Maybe they got tired of doing initials on Porters behalf?

[swervin]

They don’t seem to be doing very many upgrades on the Embraer lately. Maybe they got tired of doing initials on Porters behalf?

There's no one left to upgrade..

[Nick678]

“But yes, there's been no real constraint on individuals being able to go”

Lies, misspoke, or did I read that wrong?

[canadian_aviator_4]

“But yes, there's been no real constraint on individuals being able to go”

Lies, misspoke, or did I read that wrong?

Is there even an embraer training department left?

[Babar350]

“But yes, there's been no real constraint on individuals being able to go”

Lies, misspoke, or did I read that wrong?

Is there even an embraer training department left?

What’s an embraer?

[Little Star]

https://seekingalpha.com/article/462406 ... transcript


David Ocampo

And then just sticking with the same theme here. I mean, you guys talked about lower capacity that you're providing AC just because of the shortage. It does look like AC has looked elsewhere for capacity, at least for the time being. Do you guys think this is a short lived phenomenon and if we fast forward, call it two or three years from now, you'll once again be the sole regional supplier for AC and you can grow that CPA income again?

Colin Copp

Look, we still have exclusivity, there's no question about that and or Canada agrees to that. We came to an agreement for this little bit of extra lift that they had asked for, which made sense for the red team when you look at the bigger picture. So we worked through that with Air Canada and everybody. So we don't really see this as a loss of exclusivity in any way. We continue to have that and have a strong relationship with Air Canada, and we don't see anything really significantly changing as we move forward. Things will change in the industry as far as needs go, Air Canada's needs and what do they need for capacity lift on the regional markets, all that type of stuff. And we will always be there to support that for sure.

Did Colin work through that with Air Canada and "everybody"?

[Nick678]

Can someone shed some light on why the flow grievance wouldn’t go to arbitration before the temp base grievance? Would they not go to arbitration in the order in which they were filed?

I’m relatively unfamiliar with the whole process but this seems bizarre.

[cdnavater]

Can someone shed some light on why the flow grievance wouldn’t go to arbitration before the temp base grievance? Would they not go to arbitration in the order in which they were filed?

I’m relatively unfamiliar with the whole process but this seems bizarre.

Sometimes a grievance is put in abeyance while they try to negotiate a settlement, could have been part of the “agreement” they came to before AC poo poohed it.
Could be that, could be the complicated nature of that grievance is taking longer, many variables here.

[Morg]

https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/ai

[Man_in_the_sky]

They don’t seem to be doing very many upgrades on the Embraer lately. Maybe they got tired of doing initials on Porters behalf?

There's no one left to upgrade..

that's false. they had plenty but seniority made it that 25 years old captain who used to fly val d'or and rouyn were better than someone with 2000+ experience on the actual Jet! someone who would only require an upgrade instead of a full initial!
there's no lack on qualified pilot, there's a blatant lack of incentive to lose you QOL for a couple penny more. I'll keet listening to captain cry about the price of gas so they can't fill their boat in Madelaine island and that the loads are crazy and they can't travel for the 5th time this year, while new fo starve :p

[Little Star]

Pilot Flow To Air Canada ‘Constrains’ Jazz Capacity

Christine Boynton August 08, 2023

Over 300 captain or captain-eligible pilots have transferred to Air Canada from Jazz Aviation over the past 12 months, reports the regional airline’s parent company, Chorus Aviation.

“Our pilot flow agreement with Air Canada is working as intended,” President and CEO Colin Copp told analysts and investors Aug. 4 during a 2023 second quarter (Q2) earnings call. “During the same period, we’ve successfully recruited and trained over 300 pilots and continue to see a good supply of new-hire pilots.”

The flow has put pressure on Jazz flying, company executives say, noting some attrition to other mainline carriers as well. Describing the production in annual block hours as “temporarily constrained” while new hires are trained, the reduction in flying has not affected Jazz’s earnings, Copp noted.

“We are actively recruiting pilots and continue to grow our pipeline of future pilots through our Jazz Pathway program and our new flight training academy, Cygnet Aviation,” Copp said. “The leadership team at Jazz is very focused on collaborating with our partner Air Canada to coordinate pilot flow and flying capacity.”

Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Chorus launched Cygnet Aviation Academy in March in collaboration with flight training systems manufacturer CAE. In addition to Jazz, it also owns charter and aeromedical carrier Voyageur Airways. Jazz operates eight Bombardier CRJ200LRs, 33 CRJ900s, 36 De Havilland Canada Dash-8 400s and 21 Embraer E175s, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery Database.

Falko Regional Aircraft, an aircraft lessor, is also under the Chorus portfolio and recorded 20 aircraft transactions in Q2 with a total of nine airline customers operating in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. These included a sale and leaseback for an E195-E2 with Porter Airlines, the final placement in a previously announced deal for five.

“In general, what we’re seeing is the regional aviation market continuing to show improvements with aircraft market values, and lease rates showing signs of recovery from the pandemic lows,” Copp said.

Chorus reported Q2 revenues of C$396.8 million ($294.5 million), up 1.1% year-over-year, on an 11.4% drop in expenses to C$341.4 million. It posted Q2 net income of C$20.3 million, reversed from a year-ago loss of C$40.4 million. Its Regional Aviation Services segment—which includes contract flying, charter operations and maintenance, repair and overhaul services performed by Jazz and Voyageur, as well as Cygnet pilot training—accounted for C$327.3 million, or 82.5% of total revenues.

[Mône]

They don’t seem to be doing very many upgrades on the Embraer lately. Maybe they got tired of doing initials on Porters behalf?

There's no one left to upgrade..

that's false. they had plenty but seniority made it that 25 years old captain who used to fly val d'or and rouyn were better than someone with 2000+ experience on the actual Jet! someone who would only require an upgrade instead of a full initial!
there's no lack on qualified pilot, there's a blatant lack of incentive to lose you QOL for a couple penny more. I'll keet listening to captain cry about the price of gas so they can't fill their boat in Madelaine island and that the loads are crazy and they can't travel for the 5th time this year, while new fo starve :p

There is no one left to upgrade. There are several vacancies for CA emb and nobody is bidding them. I understand when bid 2021-2 happened a lot of emb FO would have taken the positions, but they are all gone to mainline or else.
So the statement noone left to upgrade is correct. Of all the FOs currently on the list there's a handful with an ATPL content to wait for a start date at mainline, and all the others don't have As.
As for people flying to Val D'or and Rouyn deemed better, I find that to be an extremely foolish and immature comment. You do realize that a lot of those people had several thousand hours of jet time, some had F18 time, heavy and such? I find it a hard sell to argue someone with 2000h on type and 3000TT would be a "better captain" than someone with 10s of thousand of hours on several aircraft types over multiple decades. It is fairly common for people to bid a CA position on a different type when there are more than one on an OC.

[hank998899]

Negotiations Update - August 2023
Yesterday, the MEC convened a special meeting in Toronto to consider a proposal from the Company. The MEC will reconvene in the coming week to make a decision on the proposal and determine the next steps.

In solidarity,

JAZ MEC

[Inverted2]

Negotiations Update - August 2023
Yesterday, the MEC convened a special meeting in Toronto to consider a proposal from the Company. The MEC will reconvene in the coming week to make a decision on the proposal and determine the next steps.

In solidarity,

JAZ MEC

Maybe they are bringing in training bonds?

[hank998899]

This is coming from a union that kept on saying “vote with your feet” and saying that the company will have NOTHING for those joining them recently.

Now they’re seeing their quality of life deteriorate with 7-8 year captains not holding a block anymore. Their job security is also at risk and with people quitting left, right and centre, perhaps they need to do something before they’re the last ones to leave this ship…

They thought all this “telling people to go” was fun and games to gain leverage for only the senior ones but it’s coming back to bite them in the butt!

They’re onboard with the company to give people more carrots on sticks to stay now…

[truedude]

Negotiations Update - August 2023
Yesterday, the MEC convened a special meeting in Toronto to consider a proposal from the Company. The MEC will reconvene in the coming week to make a decision on the proposal and determine the next steps.

In solidarity,

JAZ MEC

Maybe they are bringing in training bonds?

Jazz will never have training bonds.