ALPA UPDATE
Council 235, CanJet

A number of issues have surfaced in the past few days, and we have been very busy and made a great deal of progress. Please feel free to email or call any of your MEC officers if you need clarification on any of the following topics. Also, do not hesitate to give ALPA a call at 1-888-FLY-ALPA if you need further information.

You may notice that the infamous “Blue Forms” are mentioned a number of times. The process of elections can only begin after these forms have all been completed and returned. If you have not yet completed your form, you will receive a reminder call. If you have misplaced your form, more are available to you. (Spares are right beside the white ALPA mail deposit box in the crewroom.) We need your completed form ASAP.

Trip to ALPA Headquarters in Herndon

Scott Bringloe, AJ Dunn and John Murphy traveled to Herndon, VA, August 2nd - 4th for orientation training with ALPA (John had to depart on the 3rd for flying duties). The extended sessions were very informative and we now have a good idea of how the next few months will play out.

The following departments were visited:

1. Elections

The election process should go as follows:

• A nomination meeting has been scheduled for August 29th (time and place to be announced) and nomination forms will be sent to each pilot by mail.

• The nomination instructions will be included in the package that will be mailed to you soon.

• You may nominate any CanJet Captain for the Captain Rep. position, any CanJet F/O for the F/O Rep. position, and any CanJet pilot for the Secretary- Treasurer position.

• At the nomination meeting the top two candidates for Captain Rep., F/O Rep., and Secretary-Treasurer will be put on the ballots. You may vote on the website or via phone as set up by ALPA.

• After the election results have been certified by ALPA, we will have another vote to determine the Chair and Vice Chair. This will be a vote between the Elected Captain Rep and the Elected FO Rep. This vote will be done in the same manner.

• We will then have a permanent MEC and this will allow us to proceed with the business of setting up committees.

• This process should be completed by mid October, with the hand-over from the interim MEC to be completed by November 10th. This will not affect the progress of negotiations.

2. Finance

The Interim MEC has the authority to purchase required items such as fax machines, computers and the like, to perform the daily tasks of setting up and running an MEC. The initial purchase of any equipment is done through purchasing in Herndon and charged to the MEC. We have not received a final number on our budget but we have a ballpark figure and will start purchasing the equipment soon. Any office expenditures will be expensed through an automated system in Herndon. It is electronically based and easy to learn. If you’d like further information on this subject, please contact AJ or Scott.

3. Information Technology (IT)

The IT staff in Herndon is very knowledgeable and make things very user friendly. I will be approaching a few individuals who have expressed an interest in managing the website. The ALPA national Website www.alpa.org will have a link to our own MEC site and a chat room is being added (with appropriate rules!). It is a great way to get info and stay in touch. Your ALPA ID numbers and passwords will be mailed to you with a welcome letter as soon as the blue membership forms are all turned in.

4. Communications

It is in the best interest of the CanJet group to stay in touch with each other and with ALPA. You, the members, are the driving force of this organization and need to be fully informed at all times. The ALPA communications people will provide solid support in terms of publications and media. You can expect a newsletter to be produced and disseminated regularly. The dissemination of information is one of the most important functions of an MEC. Any computer or PR-inclined individuals are encouraged to volunteer to help with the communications committee.

5. Air Safety

The Air Safety arm of ALPA is tasked with reviewing and updating the procedures, equipment, and people that we deal with each day in an effort to increase the level of safety in aviation. Nearly all aviation safety-related items that have been introduced over the past 75 years have been because of the people at ALPA. Through research and lobbying, they have affected change that makes air travel the safest mode of transport. If you are interested in learning more, please contact any of your MEC officers.

6. Economic and Financial Analysis/Retirement and Insurance (E&FA/RI)

The E&FA/RI team is currently researching the airline arena that relates to CanJet and associated companies in support of our upcoming negotiations. They are very thorough and have a wealth of information from which to draw.

7. Membership

The membership services department can help you with any questions that you may have relating to ALPA. They are tasked with keeping pilot data (e.g. email addresses) up to date and reviewing membership status.

Dues Collecting

The collection of dues has created some issues for a number of reasons. First, we are obliged to pay dues from the initial receipt of the letter from ALPA National in Herndon indicating that they are the representing body. The letter that we received was dated July 24th and we are expected to pay dues from that time forward. The normal course is for the company to deduct the dues and submit them to ALPA. This is industry standard and was assumed to be the case with CanJet. Unfortunately the company has refused to collect dues in this manner. We have our lawyer looking into the matter.

There is a provision for ALPA to direct bill since this is the only way to collect dues until the company is compelled to comply with dues collection procedures. The July and August dues have been waived. Therefore, you will be receiving a bill from ALPA at the end of August for September dues.

ALPA has an idea of your salary and will bill accordingly, but you will be asked by membership services to estimate your income that is subject to dues. The income subject to dues includes all salary and overtime excluding per diems. Please be as accurate as possible as any discrepancy will be rectified once the company begins deductions.

We regret this turn of events and the process may be a bit cumbersome at first, but hopefully the procedure will only be in place a very short time. We are confident that the company will be more cooperative on this issue very soon.

Meeting with Company

Percy Toop (Legal Counsel for Local 235) and Scott Bringloe met with Julie Gossen (COO), Rob Burns (DHR), and Mike Zorychta (DFO) to introduce the parties involved and hopefully establish a schedule for meeting and negotiating. We have established a monthly meeting that will take place with the current Interim MEC and eventually the permanent MEC members. I gave a brief description of ALPA and the work that it does as well as our goal to move forward together, to which they seem in agreement. Other items discussed included the collection of dues, negotiating schedule, disclosure of pilot information to ALPA and our request to wear ALPA insignia (i.e. lanyards).

Although they met with us we were frustrated with the letter received prior to the meeting from IMP legal that stated the company would not be collecting dues in the normal manner, disclosing pilot information or setting a schedule to negotiate. Percy and the ALPA legal team have drafted a letter to the company outlining our displeasure as well as legal arguments to oppose this decidedly negative stance. We are awaiting a response. We are also awaiting a decision on the use of ALPA insignia and they have indicated that it would be released in short order.

We have repeatedly expressed our desire to move forward in a spirit of cooperation and that remains our hope.

Regards,

Scott Bringloe
Interim MEC Chairman