What are we going to do about Lisa Raitt?

[Legacy]

Let Raitt play her little game. The next day after being ordered back to work there will jut be 7000 phone calls saying "sorry I am sick today". Its been done before and will can be done again.

[robertsailor1]

Good plan, no wonder people have dim views of unions.

[North Shore]

^ What, so if Lisa Raitt butted her nose into your workplace, on the side of your employer, you wouldn't feel just a little aggrieved?

[robertsailor1]

To be fair I have mixed emotions. I think airline pilots probably need a union although my tongue almost stops moving when I say that because I'm not a fan of unions.
I'm in a business that every form of Government pokes their greedy fingers into so I'm also not a fan of any Government intervention except in the case of a monopoly.
It just seems to me that unions and management never seem to work together that well in this country. I don't have any better ideas though because the airline business is a pit to throw money into in most cases so I understand the management side as well. Tough situation at best.

[bearinmind]

Legacy, thats kind of my point.

The membership will never feel that they have a good deal until they have exhausted all options and they are tired of all the rhetoric that goes with negotiation, or one side runs out of money and ends the strike. Thats the process.

Im not always happy with my union, and am often frustrated with the direction that it takes. I am also unhappy that they do protect some that I would prefer that they do not protect, but that isnt the issue here. Without the normal process the entire membership will feel cheated and start mass sick days, or work slow, and make 7000 different individual protests that make the workplace a miserable place to work.

With a one sided negotiation process the company has no commitment to negotiate in good faith or any risk of concequence. We are just going to have another 5 years of unhappy staff, delays, cost overuns, massive long term disability costs by disgruntled workers, and the list goes on. If they want to strike, let them strike! If you would prefer to fly westjet, then fly westjet, they will benefit the most! they will also pay well and have a benefit package to prevent the formation of a union. Just oppose the government intervention to the process.

Just as an asside, the last union that Lisa interfered with they have filed a lawsuit against the government that will waste a tonne of tax dollars.

[straightpilot]

unhappy staff

Why don't they just quit and get a better paying job elsewhere? They know they're worth more money, so why keep working for less money for a crappy company? Why not earn more money somewhere else at a better company?

[CpnCrunch]

The whole thing is ridiculous...the fact that Air Canada keeps going on strike and people keep flying with them...the fact that the government is going to legislate them back to work.

Leave them be and let them either sort things out or die trying.

As straightpilot (and others) have noted, Westjet doesn't seem to suffer from this problem. Perhaps it's finally time to put Air Canada out of its misery and let more efficient companies who treat their employees better take up the slack.

So the best thing for you Air Canada employees to do would be to have your de-facto sickie strike after you're ordered back to work, preferably lasting about 6 months. Let's just have it over with once and for all.

[bearinmind]

Leave them be and let them either sort things out or die trying

Perfect, let the company and the employee's sort it out.

de-facto sickie strike after you're ordered back to work

Thats the problem, it dosent get solved with intervention.

[KAG]

It's real easy to say let AC fold, but think of what will happen to those employees and their families. Also with no one who could fill the void we would lose those over seas routes to foreign carriers.
What’s fair is to let the process work unaided by Mrs. Raitt and our elected officials - lets see what plays out.
AC isn’t going anywhere for a while anyway, and honestly if they do, it will be a sad day for Canadian Aviation.

[Mig29]

You guys would let almost 26,000 employees lose their jobs just because you were not happy with your last inflight meal experience on board with AC, or because you know of someone who knows a bad employee there? Or because they don't deserve a union or a decent level of pay!? That's potentially over 100,000 people affected (family members included) without income! And that essentially means 100,000 more EI claims on the expense of every other Canadian in the worst economic situation possible!

[straightpilot]

Nortel went broke. What a tragedy for Canada, in so many ways.

And no one here could have cared less. Why is AC special?

[CpnCrunch]

It would be a small short-term pain for long-term gain if AC went bust. Other companies would very quickly pick up the slack.

I mean - how many loans and second chances do we need to give this company?

[Beefitarian]

If Air Canada folded industry wages could go down significantly as they would no longer be a place where you might lose your best pilots to higher wages and benifits. The remaining operators would cite, "Well we need to save some money here or we'll have to shut down like Air Canada. Sorry."

[CpnCrunch]

If Air Canada folded industry wages could go down significantly as they would no longer be a place where you might lose your best pilots to higher wages and benifits. The remaining operators would cite, "Well we need to save some money here or we'll have to shut down like Air Canada. Sorry."

I don't see that happening. Westjet is inherently more efficient than AC - they made profits right through the recession while paying their employees well.

If anything, prices would rise with less competition, and wages would rise. Ideally other companies would fill the void and bring back competition...however even without competiton there is still a limit on prices based on what people are prepared to pay. You can't charge $1000 for Calgary to Edmonton even if you have a monopoly on that route, because you won't have any customers

[Legacy]

I agree with Raitt keeping her friggin nose out of it all. Send some union thugs to pay her a visit. If it were only that simple....

[Dash-Ate]

Harper's a union buster. You knew that when you hired him to run your country (well 40% of people hired him).

Plain and simple. 4 more years and we'll be USA .

[Inverted2]

Something smells here. The Commuservatives didn't seem too rushed to force Canada Post back to work. Me thinks Calin and his cronies have some friends in high places and likely made some hefty dontations to the Commuservative Party.

Or could it be all the Commuservatives comute back to their lairs on days off on Air Canada (on your dime) and don't want to be inconvienced, or god forbid fly on Westjet?


Why have a union in Canada if you're just going to be read the "Raitt Act"?

[System Message]

Could it work to file a civil lawsuit against union bosses for damages?

[The Hammer]

If Air Canada folded industry wages could go down significantly as they would no longer be a place where you might lose your best pilots to higher wages and benifits. The remaining operators would cite, "Well we need to save some money here or we'll have to shut down like Air Canada. Sorry."

I don't see that happening. Westjet is inherently more efficient than AC - they made profits right through the recession while paying their employees well.

If anything, prices would rise with less competition, and wages would rise. Ideally other companies would fill the void and bring back competition...however even without competiton there is still a limit on prices based on what people are prepared to pay. You can't charge $1000 for Calgary to Edmonton even if you have a monopoly on that route, because you won't have any customers

AC is the best competition WJ could ask for. Slow reacting, high costs and hampered by legacy airline infrastructure.
Ask Greg S. and the rest of the team if they want another Jetsgo type competitor. How did that affect the bottom line?
With 787's back ordered for years, any quick demise of AC would mean WJ competing against foreign carriers with older, expensive aircraft (or insane 787 lease rates) if they wanted a piece of that marketshare.

[bcflyer]

It would be a small short-term pain for long-term gain if AC went bust. Other companies would very quickly pick up the slack.

I mean - how many loans and second chances do we need to give this company?

I would love to know who is going to pick up the slack quickly? Do you have any idea how many flights AC does every day? How many pax they move? Any thoughts on how much tax they pay every day? If it was that easy to replace AC why would the government be so concerned about them shutting down for a day or two?

It's not as simple as Westjet adding a couple more flights a day....

[Dash-Ate]

I think it's great that some people are finally growing up. When you hire someone run your country you must look beyond the empty campaign slogans like "we will fight the evil doers" or Helping working families!!

Look at the men behind the mask. Wicked men who knowhow to manipulate us. They hate our country, our freedoms, never forget. Keep growing.

So did we fight for the right to strike and not be shot down by our own government? Did we fight wars or what? Maybe the war is just about the begin.

[CAL]

http://chrisd.ca/blog/wp-content/upload ... -raitt.jpg

can someone post this pic I have no idea how to do that?

I think she will eat herself eventually no need to worry...

[LisaS]

That is one UGLY mutt.

[yowtsx]

While I was in business school my professor said it best.

Unions are great yet unions are bad.
A few people run a union and they are as human as me or you. some will be good some bad and some ugly. Don't hate or love unions, hate or love the people who run them.

[System Message]

If anyone seriously believes that union represents its members needs to read their own political action page. It is nothing but the strong arm of the Liberal party and openly threatens its own members.
http://cupe.ca/political-action?more=1