On the Line L.L. 2921 Newsletter
A Message from the President; Harjinder Dhamnait.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I would like to begin by wishing each and every one of you and your loved ones a Very Happy New Year.
A year ago I was elected by Screeners to represent them as their Vice-President. My goal was to help the IAMAW in achieving success with correcting the wrongs that had been done to the Screeners for years. As well, I joined the Health and Safety committee to further help my colleagues in need.
As the New Year begins I want Screeners to look back at all the accomplishments that we, as a whole, have achieved.
Some battles we have lost and some we have won but its all been together and that is what has helped us stay strong for so long.
Brothers and sisters, since the election of the IAM, for the first time in years, we are able to democratically vote for our rights and voice our opinions openly in meetings without fear.
We need to stick together now more than ever. We cannot lose hope and we cannot stand defeated. Our mission is the same, but it cannot be achieved if we do not believe in ourselves and in our union.
I ask that entering this New Year you will stand by me, the executive board and shop stewards and put your faith, not only within us as a union, but in each and every one of us that makes this union. We must BE united, and STAND united. I look forward to all the goals we are about to accomplish, together.
The beginning of our Union Local Lodge monthly meetings started on Thursday January 17,2013. This was our first official Local Lodge 2921 membership meeting consisting of all the newly elected board members by the Screeners at Toronto Pearson and Billy Bishop Airports.
We got off to a bit of a rocky start having to cancel our second membership meeting, due to unforeseen circumstances. Since then we have held 11 (eleven) regular meetings for members to freely express and discuss any concerns they had. Membership meetings throughout the year were held in the Sheraton Hotel.
The General membership meetings held nominations for various conventions that were to take place at various times in 2013. The North American Transportation Conference, which was held on August 20-23 2013, saw 4 delegates attend the conference; the District 140 convention held October 23-24 2013 saw 4 delegates attend the convention. Some of the nominations that took place during the membership meetings were for positions; the year 2013 saw the nomination process for the position of General Chairperson and Vice-President.
Late January early February of 2013 saw the cancellation of the Desjardin RRSP and the enactment of the IAM Pension Fund. Screeners were given Multi-Employer Pension Plan forms to fill out and return. On July 15 in Terminal 1 and July 16 in Terminal 3 there were Pension information meetings to inform Screeners of the benefits of the IAM Multi-Employer Pension Fund, and to answer any questions that Screeners had about the Pension Fund; a Multi-Employer Pension booklet is available for all interested members.
From March through to July of 2013 The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) scheduled hearings dealing with the application of the Essential Services Provisions of the Canada Labour Code for Airport Pre-Board Screeners. The IAM applied for status as an intervener in order to protect the interests of our Screening members across the country.
On February 14, 2013, despite opposition from CATSA and the Screening Contractors, we were granted intervener status by the board. The Board found that the IAM has “direct and substantial interests in the outcome,” and also that “the IAM may have submissions to make that will assist the Board in furthering the objectives of the Canada Labour Code.”
On June 24, 2013 Brother Carlos DaCosta Airline/Transportation Coordinator met with Transport Canada. At this meeting he presented some of the issues Airport Screeners were facing in the workplace to Deputy Minister Denis Lebele.
Brother Dacosta discussed the negative impact on the screeners resulting from CATSA’s cuts in operational hours. This reduction in man-hours would prevent screeners from not being able to rotate their job positions to reduce fatigue, and would reduce the ability for many screeners to have a meal break in a reasonable time or even get a washroom break. CATSA’s cuts would impact the traveling public by creating longer line-ups for passengers due to drastic reduction in man-hours and the additional stress placed on screeners at work.
Mr. Lebele promised he would discuss all issues raised at the meeting with the Transport Minister.
On July 16, 2013 Garda advised the IAM that a recall of 40 part time screeners to full time and a recall of 40 laid off Screeners back to work as well as an addition of more hires!
In 2013 there were numerous postings for Screeners to become more active and involved within the union. Postings for interested individuals to submit an application to join the Seniority Committee, Shift Committee, become a Communicator and/or Union Representative were posted on the union website and on the IAMAW boards throughout Terminals 1 and 3 and Toronto Island.
On July 24, 2013 there was a posting pertaining to the seniority list. The seniority committee investigated every challenge submitted. It took a few weeks for the committee to examine the 40 plus challenges they received. The few challenges where the committee was not conclusive, the union decided arbitration was the way to go; September 17, 2013, the issue was brought before arbitrator Keller for final resolution. Since then, the updated seniority list has been posted in the Chief Shop Stewards offices in both Terminal 1 and 3 along with Toronto Island.
CAWU had a difficult time adjusting to the Screeners democratic choice to have the IAMAW as their new Union. The CAWU appealed and asked for the CIRB decision to be reversed, they also asked to be given confidential information on the voting process. The Federal Court of Appeals rejected these requests. The IAMAW won the appeal and was granted damages by the court.
In the early months of 2013, the IAMAW resolved hundreds of grievances filed by screeners dating all the way back to 2010. These grievances were left unresolved by the CAWU. However the IAMAW made it a priority to resolve all outstanding grievances abandoned by the CAWU and have since resolved them all with the exception of LOU7, which is still before Arbitrator Keller.
LOU7 was originally scheduled for arbitration on March 12, 2013, and submissions were given to the arbitrator. This was the start of a long hearing process due to complications of the case and objections raised by the company. This grievance has now been scheduled for January 17,2014.
Once again, myself along with the Local Lodge 2921 Executive Board, wish you and your families all the best in this New Year!