AC's current situation and how it could affect Jazz?

[Hold short]

Now that the Senate has passed the back to work legislation sending AC to binding arbitration any speculations on how the arbitrators decision could affect us here at Jazz? What if Calin wins? What if the pilots/mechanics win? Could we see growth or are we even more likely to be done in 2020?
Thoughts?........

[genetic jack hammer]

As long as our present day management is at the helm, our 2020 fate is sealed.

[ChallengerDan]

Now that the Senate has passed the back to work legislation sending AC to binding arbitration any speculations on how the arbitrators decision could affect us here at Jazz? What if Calin wins? What if the pilots/mechanics win? Could we see growth or are we even more likely to be done in 2020?
Thoughts?........

Really short term it could go either way.... good or bad.

Mid to long term, everybody loses. As Lavoisier said in french "rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée; tout se transforme" (nothing lost, nothing created.. everything transforms???).

1- ACPA and IAMAW get the best possible deal from the arbitration (Pilots/mechanics win)... Management now say they are too expensive.... creates off-shore LCC or transfers more flying to Jazz/Sky/AirXXX. Air Canada does lay-off of goes belly-up. Many pilots and mechanics looking for work. Even tough we possibly get more flying from this, what do you think is going to happen when we have to bargain with Jazz? What do you think happens when Jazz has to renegotiate rates with Air Canada? What are we going to aim for when we will sit at the bargaining table? We lost.

2- ACPA and IAMAW get the last AirCanada proposed deal (Calin wins) (the one the two unions rejected.... remember the arbitrator has to chose the best proposition that was made by both side, as a package.... there is no "lets split it in the middle" here...) Shitty deal by any standard (LCC rates, B scale, pensions, scope in Jeopardy etc.... in fact i don't know the details but if it was any good, it would have passed) Air Canada keeps on going "as is", LCC division set-up with lower widebody rates, Jazz has status quo, still needs to renegotiate rates, Air Canada wants better rates, Jazz has pressure to reduce costs, at the bargaining table Jazz will reflect on the conditions main line/LCC has and will keep to keep the difference about the same, ....Any improvement in WAWCON or that would close the gap and wouldn't make any sense. We lost.

IN either cases, if we are not happy about the offers Jazz makes (NOt sure when is the date for the pilots, but Jazz Tech is due to bargain this summer) what are we supposed to do about it? remember the Arguments from Lisa Raitt in her speech this week? Air Canada operates 1200 flights a day (of which 780 are Jazz) and flies to many communities where Air Canada is the only reliable mean of transport ( which also happens to be Jazz operated stations). If we strike they will send us to a binding agreement. You can be sure they are going to low ball us. They would be stupid not to. After all they have a duty to think about the shareholders, not the employees.

If you are in the same market, as a labour group, you want everyone out there to get as much at possible: it sets a benchmark that you are going to use for your own bargaining. I've seen companies in YUL, not unionized, give substantial raises to mechanics just because of the fact that the gap in wages and conditions was now too big with companies like Bombardier, Bell Helicopters, Pratt, Transat, AirCan, ETC.

Basically what happened this week is terrible for Air Canada workers first and foremost, but the side effects are a lot worst: it is bad for every worker in the Airline industry, it is bad for all aerospace workers as the bar has been lowered, it is bad for all unionized workers because the laws that ensure the balance of powers between union and corporate powers have been proved useless, it is bad for democracy because the Torries have now fast-tracked 18 Bills in the house without having real debates in 10 months.

You know who wins? The top 1%. The CEOs, big share-holders, investments banks, corporations, etc.
What's in it for you and me? nothing. We lost. Wether you work for Air Canada or not is irrelevant. You lost.

[dream_big]

I think your naive to think they will choose the employees contract. Why did the government step in, in the first place? To stop ac from going bankrupt. Plain and simple. And which contract gives somewhat of a fair deal to employees and secures a better future for ac? The company proposed contract.

End of the day, employees are still getting a bit, are given more flying for LCC and ac's future is looking better (in their eyes). NO WAY will they choose anything but company proposal.

[ChallengerDan]

I also think that the arbitrator will side on AirCanada's last proposal. Reason being it was accepted as tentative agreements. The government emphasized this fact during the short debates in the house. They don't seem to realize that it is tentative, and not binding, so that the members still have to freedom, democratically, to reject the agreement. They feel that if the agreement was good enough for the appointed mediators and both bargaining parties it should be good enough for the unions. That why i put my money on AC last proposal for both groups. I would be really happy to be wrong here...