Members of Lodge 2413 demonstrate against Air Canada's cancellation of fuel contracts. See more photos below the article text.
Toronto, ON – Members of the IAM Local Lodge 2413, with support from other Machinist locals were soliciting public support on the airport strip in their fight to save the jobs of refueling workers at Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau International Airports.
An airline consortium headed up by Air Canada has opted out of fueling agreements with Consolidated Aviation in both Montreal and Toronto. It means IAM members in Montreal will have their jobs terminated July 1, 2015 and IAM members in Toronto will be terminated September 30, 2015, as the airline consortium begins operations with new suppliers.
The IAM filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board regarding the behaviour of employers and has applied to have Air Canada deemed the common employer. Rather than wait for the hearing to begin, the airline consortium announced it was changing fuel suppliers so the common employer request may be questionable. The IAM then applied to the CIRB for an interim order to halt that supplier changeover until the Board has determined who the real employer is.
“We’re asking the public to sign our petition, which demands the Minister of Labour act on the interim order,” explained IAM District Lodge 140 General Chairperson Mike Corrado. “We have 300 jobs at stake and the alternative for our members is either unemployment or sign on with a new supplier at lower wages and no pension. This race to the bottom sponsored by the airlines has to stop. It’s nothing more than corporate greed.”
You can find our petition here.
