We have an upcoming Leadership meeting. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please bring them forward to any Vice Chair to be addressed at this meeting.

Bargaining nominations have been released. If you haven’t received the email you can subscribe here at Unifor2002.org . Voting will begin Oct 29th at noon and end Nov 1st at noon. Runoff date (if required) will be Nov 5th. To be elected to the bargaining committee, nominees will require 50% +1 of the vote. If nominees do not receive this percentage, it will go to a runoff election.

The email to order uniform pieces is [email protected], the information they will require is your full name, employee number and airport code.

The schedules were not uploaded in a timely manner, not meeting the 7 day minimum notice outlined in the CBA. We will be filing a Policy grievance on behalf of all members for this issue. We have requested an audit of the entire scheduling system to ensure transparency in scheduling practices and to see where improvements can be made ie: uploading more than one week in advance.

We have provided 2025 Unifor Calendars to both of the lunchrooms! We order enough for all members, so please be sure to only take one so there is enough for everyone.

In Solidarity

A grievance is any violation of our collective bargaining agreement. Anything else constitutes a complaint/conflict. These are handled through two different processes. A grievance can be filed through any of the leadership team members, while complaints/conflicts are addressed through the labour relations team.  Examples of complaints or conflicts include member-to-member disputes or manager write ups/complaints. Please always be sure to take a picture of all submitted statements or submit them electronically through email. Any one of the leadership team members can help you through the complaint/conflict resolution process. If you are ever called up to the labour relations office, you are entitled to have someone from the leadership team accompany you for support.  

If you notice health and safety concerns, please report it to a member of our health and safety team and report it in the OHS binders that are located at every checkpoint. Things to report include checkpoints running out of water, tripping hazards, or broken equipment. 

Grievances 

We have created an expedited system for payroll issues, overtime bypasses, and denied breaks. These forms can be found in the union office and be filed out by any member and submitted through any of the leadership team. You can also contact someone from the leadership team to have them submit it electronically on your behalf.  

For all other CBA violations please contact a member of the leadership team to file a formal grievance on your behalf. For example, benefits discrepancies and discipline, are filed under the formal grievance process. If more than one person is affected, the grievance will be filed as a group grievance. If the company violates the CBA in a way that affects all members, it is filed as a policy grievance.   

Union dues are set at 1.35% as per the Unions local Bylaws. The terms in which union dues are supposed to be deducted are as follows: 

1. Union dues shall be off a worker’s regular wages with respect to regularly scheduled hours as defined by the collective agreement in place. 

2. Regular wages include but are not limited to vacation pay, holiday pay, jury duty pay, full paid leave compensation, paid absence allowance compensation, cost of living allowance, supplementary unemployment benefits, or an equivalent lay-off benefit. 
   Regular wages does not include overtime, shift, Saturday, Sunday and holiday premiums, Workers Compensation benefits, relocation, termination or severance pay, pension, supplemental parental or maternity benefits. 

Medical reimbursements and company approved overtime are not supposed to have union dues deducted. We have asked the company to do a full audit for all members, after which the union will also conduct an audit to make sure all numbers are accurate. We want to make it clear; we are very aware of and concerned about this issue. The union is not the one incorrectly making these deductions, we have very clear parameters set that the company is not currently adhering to. We will update you once both sides have completed their audits.  

-Basic Human Rights: As per the company and from Screening Officer experiences, this concern has improved in relation to receiving timely bathroom breaks. Remember you cannot be denied the use of the bathroom. Please ensure you are not abandoning a crucial position where care and control are required. The company has made an effort to educate all management on the floor that every effort must be made to ensure bathroom breaks are given in a timely manner.  We are still addressing the concerns over access to water while on shift, but progress has been made in ensuring adequate water is supplied in each of the search rooms at the checkpoints. If you notice the water is not stocked, please be sure to raise these concerns to your manager. We are happy to report the installation of the new water cabinets at each checkpoint, this came after much discussion with the employer about the old practice of storing them in boxes on the floor.  

– Scope work is a serious concern right now. Often it can be seen as management “helping”, but managers performing Screening Officer functions makes it easier for the company to not pay one of us to do that work. Any position or duty that is to be performed by a screening officer should only ever be performed by a screening officer. This can affect staffing levels, as it does not accurately portray where the scheduling shortcomings are to the employer and contractor during peak or rush hours. This could lead to the company not offering overtime or backfills to cover these gaps in coverage. If you see a manager performing scope work, for example S1/S2, please note the date, time, position, and checkpoint and report it to any Vice Chair. The positions of Facilitator and Break Relief Coordinator are major Scope violations, as this is work that we should be or are already performing.  

-We are still actively addressing the major concern over receiving your scheduled breaks and being paid correctly for any and all late/missed breaks. It is imperative that everyone reports all late/missed breaks through both the online report form with the company and to any of the Vice Chairs. This data is crucial in proving that the issue is ongoing and for the upcoming CBA negotiations and the next shift bid. If you have any questions, please reach out to any Vice Chair.  

-In regard to the inappropriate comments made on break submissions, we bring all of these to the attention of upper management, and they are immediately addressed. Please bring these concerning Reponses forward so we can continue to address them. It should not be happening, and if we don’t report it, the comments will continue to happen.  

-The company is choosing to interpret the CBA incorrectly in regards to awarding Overtime shifts and extensions. “Shift Seniority” and “Uplifting” are not agreed upon terms in our CBA, and are blatant violations. We hope to have a resolution on these matters soon, and will update the membership once we do.  

-The company has agreed to auditing the RRSP contributions, just know that this will be a large undertaking and may take some time. This is not just a local issue; this is spanning all airports across the prairies and pacific regions and both the company, and the union are collaborating closely to ensure that all concerns over RRSP contributions and remittances are addressed.  

-There are still many concerns over the benefit discrepancies. We are constantly following up with the benefits provider to ensure that the plans match. The benefits team is extremely behind in addressing these concerns so to ensure that your request is resolved in a timely manner be ensure you submit all necessary documentation in your initial correspondence and follow up if you do not hear back in a timely manner. 

All detailed updates regarding workplace issues and concerns will be posted on this page. If you have any questions or concerns, you can always reach out to any of the members of the Leadership Team.  

In Solidarity 

There might be an opportunity to go to Saskatchewan to help with their upcoming election. The union would cover all expenses including time off.  Your requirement would be door knocking and assisting with a labour friendly party being elected.

If interested please send Jan Sills – [email protected] an email.