Air Canada threatens to fire Strachan over remarks on safety

[YYZSaabGuy]

I watched the interview, and wondered at the time whether his comments on offshore maintenance might not come back to bite him. Looks like they did. From Today's Globe & Mail:

Paul Strachan, the president of the Air Canada Pilots Association, has been reprimanded by the airline for making allegedly “reckless” remarks about plane safety.

“Your comments concerning the safety of Air Canada’s operations and aircraft are unacceptable and cannot be permitted to stand,” Captain Rick Allen, the airline’s senior director of flight operations, said in a letter to Captain Strachan about his “irresponsible” comments made during a March 20 interview on the Lang & O’Leary Exchange program on CBC TV.

Air Canada strike causes traffic chaos The country’s largest airline warned that unless the ACPA president retracts his comments, he will face disciplinary action or even dismissal as an airline employee.

“You are very well aware of the primordial role that the safety of our operations plays in the reputation and brand image that Air Canada works so hard to establish and maintain,” Capt. Allen said in the two-page letter obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Capt. Strachan had mentioned insolvent Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. during the television interview.

Responding to a question about safety from co-host Kevin O’Leary, Capt. Strachan referred to Aveos, an aircraft maintenance firm that shut down last month and whose largest customer was Air Canada (AC.B-T0.870.011.16%).

“I’m saying that certainly it’s a consideration for you as a traveller going forward if we are now going to, for instance, in the case of Aveos, offshore depot level maintenance activities to third parties in other jurisdictions who may or may not be held to the same standards that our people are,” Capt. Strachan said during the final 45 seconds of the seven-minute TV interview.

On Monday, Capt. Strachan stressed that he believes Air Canada runs a safe operation due to the sound judgment and skills of dedicated employees and not because of management’s oversight. Air Canada is one of the safest airlines in the world, he said.

Last month, the union president asserted that the El Salvador-based Aeroman aircraft repair plant, which is majority owned by an Aveos entity, employs workers who are paid less than $16,000 a year.

“My question to you then is: Is this the man you want maintaining the aircraft that you fly on so frequently? I suspect not,” Capt. Strachan said during the March 20 interview.

Capt. Allen described the remarks as “wholly without merit” and “completely false” since Air Canada doesn’t fly any of its planes for servicing at Aeroman. “We have publicly and repeatedly stated that Air Canada had not sent any aircraft to the Aeroman facility to be maintained and has no plans to do so. Falsely associating Air Canada with Aeroman’s operations, as you did, in the current environment in particular, itself damages Air Canada’s reputation.”

A prolonged labour dispute between Montreal-based Air Canada and ACPA is headed toward arbitration.

“Regardless of your role within the Air Canada Pilots Association, you are an Air Canada employee, and as such, this letter of expectation will be placed on your file,” Capt. Allen said in his letter. “Furthermore, you are hereby called upon to retract the statements that constitute a breach of your duties as an employee and to demand of the CBC that it remove such portion of your interview from any website from which the interview may be publicly viewed. Your failure to abide by the above or any repetition of any similar occurrence will result in Air Canada taking further action, up to and including discharge.”

Capt. Allen also criticized Capt. Strachan for sanctioning March 31 newspaper advertisements showing pilots’ caps, saying the use of such an image was “unauthorized and constitutes misappropriation of company property. Further use of the uniform or any of its parts will not be tolerated.”

Capt. Allen noted that Capt. Strachan appeared during the television interview “wearing an Air Canada uniform while you were not working for Air Canada.”

ACPA has been facing internal dissent, too, as pilots debate how to react to federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt’s intervention to prevent full-scale work stoppages. The union urged a group of 27 former union leaders last month to stand down and join a united campaign to obtain a fair labour contract.

“Please consider that this battle will be a hard one, requiring your unwavering support,” said a newsletter to all members signed by Capt. Strachan and 15 other current leaders of the union.

[CanadianEh]

Someone has to make the public aware of the short cuts that are being taken. These short cuts are usually to the detriment of safety for the bottom line.

Who should the public believe? Management in their cozy office or the pilots who are actually on the plane, have a vested interest in safety, and will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat when shit hits the fan?

[Rockie]

A recent incident on an A320 ferry flight from a maintenance facility in Quebec graphically illustrates how farming out maintenance to places you have no control over can bite you. The incident received pretty good coverage in Quebec but for some reason hasn't caught on in English Canada much to the relief of Air Canada, who stands to eat crow over their threats made to Captain Strachan.

Maintenance is just one area where Air Canada is viciously cutting costs. In the old days Transport Canada used to put airlines on watch when this stuff was going on in order to protect the travelling public but that is not happening at Air Canada. Rumours abound suggesting Air Canada management had our old POI replaced because he was against certain fuel policies Air Canada has adopted among other things, and had him replaced with someone else more complaisant.

I can attest to Strachan's statement that it is the dedicated and conscientious employees that are keeping this place safe rather than the management. In their zeal to improve on time performance the passenger handling folks recently came out with an edict that led to CAR's violations, and it was the pilots (NOT pilot management) that stopped this policy in its tracks. It is the pilots who board the fuel necessary for the safe completion of the flight rather than blindly following a fuel policy aimed more at saving money than safety. It is the pilots who decide whether an aircraft with several MEL's is appropriate and safe for a particular flight rather than a clerk sitting in an office. It is the pilots who decide if taking off and landing is safe or not, and it is they who decide if and when to divert, and where to divert to should that prove necessary. All of this and countless other decisions made in the course of a duty day are often accomplished while fending off pressure from office types who's only concern is cost and convenience.

Instead of threatening to fire Strachan, Air Canada should be publicly thanking him and the pilots he represents for keeping this place safe.

[conehead]

Maintenance is just one area where Air Canada is viciously cutting costs. In the old days Transport Canada used to put airlines on watch when this stuff was going on in order to protect the travelling public but that is not happening at Air Canada.

Written by UNION OF CANADIAN TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEES
Thursday, 05 April 2012

In response to the Auditor General's Spring 2012 Report that reviewed civil aviation, Christine Collins, National President of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE), is deeply concerned about the safety of Canada's airspace.

UCTE represents more than 900 Technical Inspectors at Transport Canada including aviation inspectors for airworthiness, cabin safety, and transportation of dangerous goods.

In June 2008, the Department reported it was having trouble finding qualified candidates who are willing to accept the pay rates offered by the government and needed to identify the skills and resources needed to fill 134 vacancies. Instead, Transport Canada concluded a review and appears to have eliminated the vacancies without staffing them. Now in March 2012, the Auditor General is reiterating the lack of inspectors needed to keep Canadians safe.

"Transport Canada has known for over 4 years that they do not have enough Inspectors to keep our skies safe. And despite us raising concerns, they have done very little about it … And now the department is cutting back over 10% of their personnel in accordance with the recent federal budget. How can you possibly cut back when you have evidence of insufficient skilled personnel resources today?"

"Canadians deserve a safe transportation system. Given the clear evidence as articulated in the AG's report, now is not the time to cut back on transportation safety in Canada." says President Collins.

UCTE is the national union for air, marine and rail inspectors working for Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board.

[duranium]

Someone has to make the public aware of the short cuts that are being taken. These short cuts are usually to the detriment of safety for the bottom line.

Who should the public believe? Management in their cozy office or the pilots who are actually on the plane, have a vested interest in safety, and will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat when shit hits the fan?

1- I do not fly airplaines for AC

2- Thus, as the fat lady says: put up or shut up, ei , the proof should be in the
pudding so show us the pudding. If unable, start eating crow.

[Rockie]

2- Thus, as the fat lady says: put up or shut up, ei , the proof should be in the
pudding so show us the pudding. If unable, start eating crow.

The problem here is found in the title of the thread. This company is hostile toward the employees now and will fire anybody who violates their draconian anti-freedom of speech rules. You should read them, you would be excused for thinking this was the 1800's instead of 2012. But you can't read them and I can't show them to you or I'll be fired.

Transport Canada is supposed to take care of the safety aspect but they obviously don't do that anymore do they? So, it's up to us to somehow keep things safe despite management and AWOL regulatory oversight by Transport Canada.

[vic777]

Can ACPA request a Government Audit of Air Canada's Activities in this area?

[sim_deval]

http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/economie/arc ... 73832.html

[c170b53]

Yeah right... spill the beans, ah... you first.
I'm always careful of what I say as I know another website was forced to reveal the posters who were threatened with litigation. I don't think that these forums are any different.
As for the MOT well, from the agency itself; there were differences in opinion between East and West coast that was advantageous for some operators. I'd say that's a 180 now.

[bearinmind]

Its an empty threat, and not very smart of the company to call him out on it.

If they fire him, he gets a lawyer, and then only has to prove that he is right and he gets his job back and then sues for liabel (if the company leaked the information about the reprimand in any way). Very public lawsuit about AC policies and saftey. The media will pull little pieces out of the case and make AC look like a donkey show when it comes to saftey.

On the other hand (please insert sarcasm here) Paul see's the error in his ways, and announces to the membership that we are not being safe enough ans we should take whatever means necessary to make us the safest airline possible even if it will cause a delay.

Stupid play by the company.

[rudder]

... (if the company leaked the information about the reprimand in any way)....

Only two parties had the letter in hand - AC and Strachan. And you believe that it was AC that leaked the letter to the media? I highly doubt it.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Careful where you tread on this one.As union leader there are a few implications and remember the corp have deep pockets.


Two torts that involve the communication of false information about a person, a group, or an entity such as a corporation. Libel is any Defamation that can be seen, such as a writing, printing, effigy, movie, or statue. Slander is any defamation that is spoken and heard

[TheStig]

Unbelievable, (almost) at a loss for words. It's hard to believe that management could be so petty. They've WON, their end game of Final Offer Selection Arbitration has been achieved. Yet with the proverbial bear in a cage, they've continued to poke it. Why do they continue to provoke labour action?

Good will amongst the pilot group disappeared when it became apparent that the corporation wasn't willing to negotiate, and they've been struggling to cope operationally since then. Unfortunately it would seem things are going to get worse.

Capt. Strachan and Capt. Belanger are the voice of the pilot group, threatening to silence them for openly questioning the direction the industry is headed with respect to safety is incomprehensible and dangerous. Is cutting off your nose to spite your face justifiable when someone is threatening to severe your head?

[bearinmind]

“You are very well aware of the primordial role that the safety of our operations plays in the reputation and brand image that Air Canada works so hard to establish and maintain,” Capt. Allen said in the two-page letter obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Its in a letter so its libel, and how they got the letter is what we dont know. I dont want to submarine this thread with leagaleze. The media didnt even pick up on it, so company should have just let it die. Company just made it a news story by writing the letter. Dumb Dumb Dumb.

I dont think you would need an expensive lawyer to take this one on, and the cost of the case in media exposure access to our saftey information would be very expensive to the company. It would be very closely covered by every news agency in canada and paul would come out looking like a hero.

[loopa]

“Regardless of your role within the Air Canada Pilots Association, you are an Air Canada employee, and as such, this letter of expectation will be placed on your file,” Capt. Allen said in his letter. “Furthermore, you are hereby called upon to retract the statements that constitute a breach of your duties as an employee and to demand of the CBC that it remove such portion of your interview from any website from which the interview may be publicly viewed. Your failure to abide by the above or any repetition of any similar occurrence will result in Air Canada taking further action, up to and including discharge.”

Looks like Allen is going through manopause. This is such a girly statement because it is so vindictive. "You said this, so I'm going to do this (RAAOOOOW) / cat scratch."

Seriously, good on Paul Strachan for sticking to his words. With all due respect to Allen, he's way out of line on this one. Him and his surroundings are probably just bitter that Strachan showed the media their true colours. I didn't know that Strachan's words could be detrimental to the Air Canada reputation, because if they are so concerned about their reputation then why the donkey show in the first place? Like mentioned earlier, this is a rather emotional response than a logical one and definitely not the kind of response you expect from a flag carrier. Airline managers in Europe would be probably just sit and laugh at the level of immaturity displayed in this letter.

Go Strachan and the guys that are behind you on the move you guys are making - it truly is legendary in the history of aviation and I so hope that it works out for you!

[Rockie]

Looks like Allen is going through manopause. This is such a girly statement because it is so vindictive. "You said this, so I'm going to do this (RAAOOOOW) / cat scratch."

Although the letter has RA's signature block on the bottom it wasn't authored by him any more than the other tripe sent out under his name, and this particular letter wasn't even signed by him. It was signed "for" him by another manager that wants Allen's job so bad he can taste it.

In this case Rick Allen gets the blame for something he may have had absolutely nothing to do with. But...he let it happen. If he had a strong enough objection he would disavow that piece of garbage.

[126.7_STFU]

I say you all walk off the job tomorrow. Give management an aneurysm.

[BverLuver]

Go Strachan and the guys that are behind you on the move you guys are making - it truly is legendary in the history of aviation and I so hope that it works out for you!

A little melodramatic don't you think? Legendary? The only thing that will prove to be legendary is the collapse of one of the mightiest companies in Canadian History if the sides continue on their current paths.

Also, keep in mind Mr. Strachan was reprimanded for making comments publicly while in uniform that were false, slanderous and detrimental towards his employer. I think they let him off easy with a letter.

BL

[Rockie]

Also, keep in mind Mr. Strachan was reprimanded for making comments publicly while in uniform that were false, slanderous and detrimental towards his employer. I think they let him off easy with a letter.

Watch the Lang and O'Leary clip and seriously consider if a judge would agree with you.

[Lost in Saigon]

Also, keep in mind Mr. Strachan was reprimanded for making comments publicly while in uniform that were false, slanderous and detrimental towards his employer. I think they let him off easy with a letter.

Watch the Lang and O'Leary clip and seriously consider if a judge would agree with you.

Here is the link: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Business ... 2213074024

[vic777]

Legendary? The only thing that will prove to be legendary is the collapse of one of the mightiest companies in Canadian History if the sides continue on their current paths.

Look to all the "Bogus", "bought deals" for Air Canada shares, starting in the "Eighties", and Executives lining their pockets to see the reasons for Air Canada's demise.

[nutsnbolts]

Also, keep in mind Mr. Strachan was reprimanded for making comments publicly while in uniform that were false, slanderous and detrimental towards his employer. I think they let him off easy with a letter.

Watch the Lang and O'Leary clip and seriously consider if a judge would agree with you.

from the New York times.... http://t.co/2LFd18Wj

[Old fella]

I say you all walk off the job tomorrow. Give management an aneurysm.

I don't know about AC but any person 55 years and older with 25 yrs service and over who can see themselves clear and able to retire may be in a good position and there is f--- all MGT can do about it because you cannot be denied your retirement as long as you meet age and are willing to accept penalties, that's what I did. If there are AC pilots in their system who can do this, it may give the so called aneurysm if there is enough. Working conditions/collective agreements/pay etc. etc. is subject to whatever but your retirement isn't. Again worth repeating, you retirement cannot be denied, ditto for associated paper work to complete process......

[rudder]

I don't know about AC but any person 55 years and older with 25 yrs service and over who can see themselves clear and able to retire may be in a good position and there is f--- all MGT can do about it because you cannot be denied your retirement as long as you meet age and are willing to accept penalties, that's what I did. If there are AC pilots in their system who can do this, it may give the so called aneurysm if there is enough. Working conditions/collective agreements/pay etc. etc. is subject to whatever but your retirement isn't. Again worth repeating, you retirement cannot be denied, ditto for associated paper work to complete process......

Everybody talks about it. But almost nobody does it. Senior widebody Capt at AC is still the best gig in Canada. There will be no mass exodus at the top. But the bottom may be a much different story. Lots of folks rejecting job offers from AC. That ought to be a blow to the flt ops managers that walk into G/S pumping up the newhires egos.

[biatch]

Here we go again; pilots comparing themselves to doctors. Just one major difference among many: doctors stick together. If I were you guys I'd find another rep to do the tv work. Strachan may be a fine rep for you, but it takes more than that to debate and make points concisely in front of an audience.