West Wind Pilots Reinstated

[HO Driver]

I hear from a very reliable source that congratulations are in order for 3 out the 4 WWA pilots fired last year. The labour board took a grand total of 20 minutes (Not the normal 1-6 months) to deliver a verdict to WWA's managament ordering a reinstatement as of Feb.23 and full back pay for the 5 months they were wrongfully fired.
I hope other small companies and pilots in this country look very closely at what just happened here. You can't just fire guys for no good reason! And pilots, you can fight a wrongful dissmissal. Way to go guys, congrats!

[props ahead]

I never heard about this incident does anybody know what WW reason for firing them was?

[Legacy]

In short they wanted better working conditions I believe. Too much to ask for?

[SaskStyle]

I never heard about this incident does anybody know what WW reason for firing them was?

There's a thread below "Where did the WestWind Thread go?"

It's a bit of a read...but should answer your questions....

That's some fantastic news if it's true....

Anyone from there care to comment???

...I'd love to hear from the other side...

Some of the one's that were jumping to the defence of management when their coworkers were being fired.

IF the rumours are true....

AND especially the one that the labour board took one look at the case, and basically said without hesitation..."WW you have no case bring these guys back."

It's pretty encouraging to know that there is support out there....

Only 3/4 reinstated....let's make it clean sweep!!!

[square]

At least they'll get a decent paycheque this month =)

[oilstain]

I am curious to know if these guys are going to stick around, or accept that thier names were cleared from being terminated and move on to new operators. I can't imagine rejoining the operation after this incident would be easy, especially since management likely learned the correct way to take action through this process and someone in the company wants them gone bad enough that they were dismissed once, even if it was considered unfair. I would fear being written up every time I farted in a situation like that.

[Vindicator]

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Business/ ... story.html


Three fired pilots to return to work


By Jeanette Stewart, The StarPhoenixFebruary 19, 2009 9:01 AMBe the first to post a comment

Three pilots who were fired for organizing a union drive at an award-winning Saskatchewan business plan to return to work on Monday.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board has ordered the reinstatement of three pilots who were terminated on the same day they conducted the first union meeting at Saskatoon-based airline service West Wind Aviation.

"They were good employees, and all they wanted to do was bring a union into their workplace," said Wally Ewanicke, the national representative for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. "We live in a country where the codes allow you to freely organize your workplace."

A unanimous ruling after a hearing Wednesday said the board determined the pilots were fired for union activity. Originally the hearing was scheduled for three days in Saskatoon, but lasted just one day.

The pilots organized a meeting last fall to become certified as unionized employees under federal code. The same day of the meeting last October, the employer sent a letter to the pilots' homes telling them they were terminated, Ewanicke said.

The company has been ordered to reinstate the employees with full seniority, back pay and benefits.

"Everybody is very happy that they have been vindicated through the process," Ewanicke said.

Until the hearing took place, the three pilots had tried to find work elsewhere while going through the process of filing the complaint.

"With the economy it's not easy," Ewanicke said. "For each plane that you fly, you have to be certified on that plane, which costs thousands and thousands of dollars. You have to work your way up. There's a huge training cost."

Several calls to management at West Wind Aviation were not returned Wednesday.

West Wind Aviation was named one of Canada's top 50 best managed companies by the Better Business Bureau of Canada in 2007, an award honouring excellence in Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues of more than $10 million.

In 2008, West Wind received the business leader of the year award at the annual Achievement in Business Excellence awards of Saskatchewan. In 2007, West Wind was given the business of the year award at the Saskatoon Achievement in Business Excellence Awards, and was a finalist in the Better Business Bureau of Saskatchewan's 2007 Torch awards.

The CEP union represents three major groups including communication, energy and pulp and paper. This was a first attempt at unionizing members of the aviation industry through the CEP.

jstewart@sp.canwest.com

[Barkaie]

Three fired pilots to return to work
Source: www.thestarphoenix.com
Three pilots who were fired for organizing a union drive at an award-winning Saskatchewan business plan to return to work on Monday.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Business/ ... story.html

[Cat Driver]

West Wind Aviation was named one of Canada's top 50 best managed companies by the Better Business Bureau of Canada in 2007, an award honouring excellence in Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues of more than $10 million

Just imagine what it would be like working for some of Canada's worst companies.

[pgbulldog]

.

[Big Ill]

I am curious to know if these guys are going to stick around, or accept that thier names were cleared from being terminated and move on to new operators. I can't imagine rejoining the operation after this incident would be easy, especially since management likely learned the correct way to take action through this process and someone in the company wants them gone bad enough that they were dismissed once, even if it was considered unfair. I would fear being written up every time I farted in a situation like that.

True enough I totally would be nervous and be looking for new work. They could always just lay off and say shortage of work.
Good luck guys
And congrats

[looproll]

I have a question. Did these guys work in the meantime? That could be an awesome payout, 2 salaries on 1 job. And what do these guys do once they are reinstated?

"Hi, I'm back! Here's my 2 weeks notice!"?


???

[Cat Driver]

Their relationship with their former employer might be like having a court force you to sleep with your former mate that you divorced six months ago because you could not get along together.

[Roper]

quote="pgbulldog"] I know a lot of pilots who work in crappy conditions and operators that push pilots to be unsafe, West Wind is not one of them. quote]


And you know this how??

By the way, I had heard their CP quit in the fall. Who is doing that job now?

[teh_flyguy]

.

[flying4dollars]

Just curious but has anybody looked at it from the other side. Were these guys model employees to start? I'm sorry but if working half the month with good equipment and being home almost every night and getting paid well to do it is bad working conditions then maybe they should go work else where. I know that staffing issues have been a problem for every company and finding experienced people is even harder and employees have suffered because of it. I think these guys need to see what else is out there for jobs. How much experience do these guys have at other companies? Not saying that West Wind is the best but it's far from the worst. West Wind is not Westjet and pilots shouldn't expect things to be the same. I agree that they shouldn't have been let go for trying to organize a union. Some pilots have gotten everything form West Wind and now they are turning their backs on the company that has given them their careers. I know a lot of pilots who work in crappy conditions and operators that push pilots to be unsafe, West Wind is not one of them. Have these guys thought about what a union is really going to do for them and how it effects everybody in the organization. I think some people are being really selfish. Talk about bitting the hand that feeds. With the economy the way it is right now I think we should all be thankful that we have jobs. If it's so bad at West Wind why do so many pilots and AMEs move from next door???? There are a lot of good pilots out there and there are some that just make everybody elses live miserable. I'm not saying that that is the case with these pilots. I'm just saying that there always three sides to the story, one side, the other side and the truth. I wouldn't be cheering to loud if I didn't know the whole story, and none of use ever will.

1) The pay at WW isn't good enough to justify that statement so I'm going to have to disagree with you
2) In an industry thats so unstable, and unpredictable, everyone has to watch their own asses. Employees shouldn't be expected to 'owe the company' because they 'gave them their careers'. It wasn't like "hey please help me with a job i REALLY wanna be a pilot" and WW saying "yeah sure we'll give you your career since you asked so nicely". WW needed pilots at the time, and they were qualified, its as simple as that. Now I do see where you were going with that statement but the way you worded it, felt like you were saying that employees should be indebted to their employers for supposedly 'giving them their careers'. Shouldn't be that way.

Also I'm sure if there was a plausible 'other side to the story', then this hearing wouldn't have lasted just 20 mins. It would have been over the course of a couple/few days to get both sides in, investigate further, and then decide which side of the story seems to be the more plausible one and take action from there. So with that said, I don't know that there is another side.

Just my $0.02, take it with a grain of salt

[Widow]

Did they end up unionizing?

[pgbulldog]

.

[pgbulldog]

.

[Roper]

Anyway my point wasn't whether or not what happened was justified or not. I think what happened was wrong. My point is that I don't think a union is going to fix things and they need to think long and hard about the long term ramifications of bringing in a union and how it will effect the other departments in the company. I think it's selfish. If you don't like where you are go else where. Ask all the pulp and paper workers in northen BC what the unions did for them when the doors where closed.

- You're first two sentences seem at odds with each other so not sure what exactly your point is. If it was justified, it was right. If it was unjustified - then it's wrong. However, the 3 unbiased decisionmakers made the ruling pretty quickly, obviously felt it was justified, and I would think they heard all sides.

- You think that a union won't fix things but you need to remember that it wasn't the union that broke things.

- You think it's selfish. Maybe it's very unselfish. Who are you thinking about?

- A union is made up of the employees. Those employees make the rules to follow. So, line up for a position and help make the rules.

- So, the pulp workers in B.C. were let go only because they were in a union?
Who let these pilots go? Wasn't a union.

- Isn't this the same union that represents a good number of West Wind's clientele? This union seems to be helping to keep those jobs, which in turn, supplies the business there. Maybe this clientele should go to another company that doesn't think union members are 'selfish'. Remember, that's who is paying the bills so that West Wind can pay theirs.

[pgbulldog]

.

[xsbank]

Companies 'usually' don't ask for unions, they get one because something they do is either unfair or unreasonable or just plain cheesy (decide for yourselves what this means). If this company was so wonderful with its rewards, etc., why did they fire the pilots instead of talking to them? There is more than meets the eye here and I, for one, think 90k sucks as a wage unless your wife works and all of your kids too. Try and buy a house or property closer than 200 miles from a city and you'll see what I mean.

pgbulldog, never had a lousy boss? Never had to always work the crappy shifts? Never had your name sullied and been given the worst trips because of something you said? Never made a mistake and get threatened instead of trained? Like I said on another thread, aviation is the poster child for unions, our working conditions get worse every year and in the absense of enlightened management, its going to be a union.

I don't work in a union any more, but I did for a while and all things considered, I prefer the union for anything to do with flying.

[ifr]

Bulldog....I don't know if WalMart is the best example of what good management should be. If you're comparing West Wind to them, I can see why there might've been a problem.

[YVRAME87]

Why is it that pilots are the ones complaining about their conditions. AMEs have it just as bad yet we don't complain, is it the type of person that become a pilot? I just don't get it, pilots love the job when they start then when their career gets going they wine. It's as if they had no idea what the industry was like, the pay the shifts and the job have always been shitty. Suck it up or find another job. All these pilots are going to do is screw up the company for the rest of them. Then they are going to move on to AirCanada where they belong. Cause you know they are all trying. If we can't make it to air canada we will just make everywhere else like it.

[pgbulldog]

.