Branch Executive Update

Chairman's Report
by Dave Doerksen

Winnipeg ACC Members,

It has been a while since we had a newsletter published, a thank you to PT for putting this together.
Elections have come and gone in the ACC with very little fanfare. Kevin Wallace, Scott Roger, and Steve Molloy have all been elected by acclamation to their respective posts (RD, Vice-Chair and Sec/Treas if you needed a reminder). The Chairman's position comes up next year. We are looking for volunteers for the steward positions; anyone interested may submit their name to a member of the Branch Executive.
There are several items on the burner these days, with little progress being made. Management doesn't seem to have the time to address issues in the ACC; they seem content on creating problems first. The new shift schedules are out using the Shift Logic program, and I have heard a few problems with it so far, but really not as many as I had expected. I am sure we will see more problems in the future (like when the system crashes the day the schedules are to come out and they tell us it will be another week). It is unfortunate that Management decided to forge ahead with the implementation before consulting with CATCA. Several issues should have been addressed before the system went into use. All controllers should have had access to the program, and should received training on the program, but why would they start doing things in an orderly manner now? I am sure someone had a bonus riding on the timely implementation, and far be it from him or her to sacrifice a bonus for actually doing something properly. That is something we are going to see more of, I am sure. As long as a manager has a bonus attached to a project or an objective, you can rest assured that the controllers are going to get shafted in the wake of the bonus objective.
There is a local management/CATCA consultation planned for the middle of December. Any issues you would like addressed should be forwarded to your steward ASAP. The Branch Council will be meeting the third Monday of each month, and issues will be addressed at those meetings.
Still no official word on the Great Resectorization Plan. Management has chosen not to consult on this issue until after it is finalized. Typical. Whatever comes of it, you can be sure that it is going to generate a lot of discussion. I have been told that this will be a topic at the consultation meeting. It is likely that they will want to incorporate partial specialty checkouts into this plan, and we have already told them that CATCA is opposed to this idea.
Collective Bargaining continues at a snail's pace. Strike committees will be set up this month in preparation for a stalemate. I'll let Kevin elaborate on the rest.
Generally speaking, morale is low again (or is that still), and frustration is at an all time high. Be patient. If the negotiations do not work out, that is when we will have our opportunity to remind the company of what we mean to its survival. Until then, we must let the negotiating team and the Board of Directors do their job. The time will come when you will be called upon to support CATCA on either a national or local front, and we must be strong and ready for that time. It's a give and take situation where the company has to begin realizing that if it does not begin treating us with some respect, it cannot expect us to treat it with any respect.

Vice Chairman Vents
by Scott Roger

The Christmas Season is once again upon us and even though it should be a happy time of year, the morale at the Winnipeg ACC is at an all time low.
We have now been at collective bargaining for well over a year with no immediate end in sight. The company continues to think of controllers as just another form of assembly line worker that can be hired and fired in the blink of an eye, yet staffing still teeters on the edge of obscene. One has to wonder what it will take to convince NavCanada of our worth to this company. We all know that only the goodwill and professionalism of controllers has been able to keep the system running to this point.
As frustrated as we all are at this total lack of respect, we have to maintain a cool head during these stressful times. In time we will be able to convince our employer of our value. Whether through strike action or just through the natural collapse of the entire ANS due to total mismanagement, our day will come. My only question is whether or not NavCanada will exist at all when our time does come.
In the meantime, I now find it impossible to muster any ambition to do more for this company than just come in to work and separate airplanes. There was a time when I truly wanted to help to make our operational conditions better. It made sense to me to want to create a better way for myself and my colleagues but now this company has systematically beat that ambition out of me. I cannot understand how anyone could feel any different.
Someday, somehow, this company might actually provide us with the respect and acknowledgement that we deserve. Until then, "volunteer" is not part of my vocabulary.