Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Transportation District 140 of the IAMAW intended to distribute certain surplus funds that remain in its
possession as a result of a September 12, 2012 Arbitration Decision that assigned $55M to the Union
to cover the cost of the Air Canada Separation Packages under Order 9996-U to former Aveos
Members who were employed at Air Canada on January 31, 2011, who opted to retire or resign from
Air Canada as part of the Aveos transition process, and who were still working at Aveos at the time of
its closure.
The arbitration that resulted in the September 12, 2012 decision took place under a
mediation/arbitration procedure that is provided for in the CIRB Order No. 9996-U. The decision fixed
a value of $55,000,000 on the packages payable by Air Canada under Order 9996-U. This figure was
based, in part, on a ruling in favour of Air Canada that the value of the original 1,500 separation
packages provided for under the Order should not be calculated based on the entitlement and service
of the retire/rehire group.
The decision then set out the process under which the employer was to make the $55,000,000
payment, stating that all payments were to be made, “as directed by the Union subject to statutory
deductions.”
The basic fundamental Union philosophy and principle of Transportation District 140 was and is, that
every Member who was employed at Air Canada on January 31, 2011 who opted to transition to
Aveos from Air Canada as part of the Aveos transition process and who lost their job when Aveos
closed was negatively impacted in some form or another by Aveos’ insolvency and closure and
should therefore receive some sort of compensation if possible.
Ultimately, the $55,000,000 that was obtained by the Union through the arbitration process was
sufficient to allow the Union to direct Air Canada to pay the full package amount as defined in Order
9996-U to each and every one of the more than 1,700 Members of the IAMAW who met the individual
eligibility requirements set out in the Order. Accordingly, every Member who has received a package
to date, has already received the fullest possible individual entitlement envisaged by Order 9996-U.
In the interests of equity and fairness and in accordance with the terms of the Arbitration Decision, the
Union is now intending to equally distribute surplus funds, less statutory deductions, to former Aveos
Members who were employed at Air Canada on January 31, 2011, who opted to retire or resign from
Air Canada as part of the Aveos transition process, and who were still working at Aveos at the time of
its closure, since they have not received any compensation for their losses resulting from transitioning
to Aveos in the context of its insolvency and closure.
Unfortunately, some members who received payments pursuant to Order 9996-U and the subsequent
Mediation/Arbitration proceedings have filed legal proceedings challenging Transportation District
140’s decision to distribute surplus funds to other members who have not yet received any
compensation from Air Canada for their losses resulting from Aveos’ insolvency. Transportation
District 140 believes the approach it has taken to be reasonable and fair, as well as fully consistent
with CIRB Order 9996-U and the Arbitrator’s decision of September 12, 2012, and has requested that
this matter be resolved expeditiously in order that it may proceed with the final distribution of these
funds.
In Solidarity,
Fred Hospes,
President & Directing General Chairperson
Transportation District 140, IAMAW