Good evening GardaWorld YYC workers,

Application Update!

Today, we received notice from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) that both GardaWorld and CLAC have been notified of our application for certification, which was filed earlier this week. In addition, the CIRB has provided deadline dates for responses and submissions by the parties. Highlights are below:

Weds. March 30 – Deadline for Employer to provide employee list of eligible voters

Mon. April 4 – Deadline for Employer and CLAC to provide response to the Unifor application

Mon. April 11 – Deadline for Unifor to respond to both the Employer and CLAC’s responses

Weds. April 13 – Deadline for CIRB Industrial Relations Officer to provide a Letter of Understanding to the parties regarding all positions.

While we are hopeful we can expedite the process, it currently looks under the schedule that a vote is likely the week of April 18.

We will keep everyone posted as we move through the process.

Phone Calls and Workplace Presence

This week, we started to reach out to GardaWorld workers about the application and to answer any questions you may have about the application or Unifor in general. The response has been great and most are eager to move to a union who will put their interests first! We will be continuing to reach out by phone over the coming week.

We will also be present in the workplace this week and holding drop-in meetings. Currently, we are working to secure the space, but so far, we’re confirmed at the Marriott on Tuesday, March 29 from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Details are below, but we are also available to schedule times to connect Monday to Wednesday at YYC.

Location: Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Airport

Crocus Room (Mezzanine Level)

Tues., March 29: 10:00-20:00 (10 a.m. – 8 p.m.)

Constitutional Investigation

We communicated on March 14 about a constitutional investigation involving our former National President. In an update Wednesday, our Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne announced Jerry Dias now stands charged with breaching Article 4, Code of Ethics and Democratic Practices, of Unifor’s Constitution.

You can read more here, but this is a reminder that no member of the union from rank-and-file to the National President is above Unifor's Constitution and Code of Ethics.

GardaWorld YQR

Some workers have been asking about Unifor's collective agreement at the Regina International Airport. We want to share some information on that deal and welcome questions on it.

The GardaWorld workers at YQR joined Unifor in 2018. In our first collective agreement, we worked diligently with our bargaining committee to achieve some of the below highlights. Currently, we are negotiating the second collective agreement and there is no threat to leave because these workers are happy with their representation and agreement.

You can read a testimonial from a GardaWorld YQR member here.

Collective Agreement & Representation Highlights

1. Agreement reflects the priorities of the membership not the union. Was ratified by over 90% on the first tentative deal.
2. Wage increases for all classifications of SO's including precerts. Increases totaling 7.5% in each. This was a priority of the membership for across the board increases.
3. Retirement security (pension) that was chosen by the membership (options over one model, unlike CLAC or Teamsters)
4. Negotiated benefited coverage for all members from GardaWorld while they were in the process of joining Unifor as they chose to leave the Teamsters through decertification. Bargained increased level of benefits based on membership priorities while maintaining previous coverage.
5. Negotiated PEL (paid education leave) and provided training for all union representatives. Priority for this membership, they felt previously the training was inadequate.
6. Won improvements to vacation scheduling and flexibility. The employer fought this later and we took them to arbitration and won a settlement on behalf of the members.
7. Currently, we have zero outstanding grievances going in to negotiations. This is because we deal with grievances not hope they go away.
8. We have never signed GardaWorld's letter stating that the membership does not have the right to strike.

The choice moving forward

Who do you trust to bargain a better deal and ensure the employer respects that deal? The majority of workers at GardaWorld YYC have signed Unifor membership cards because they know they deserve better representation.

Unifor will move you forward and protect your collective agreement and rights. We’re not here for GardaWorld, CATSA or anyone other than you and your co-workers. Join us and we’ll be in your corner.

Union Cards and Contact Information

Workers can still sign cards to join Unifor to show support for the campaign.

Here’s the electronic union card link: https://join.unifor.org/gardacard

If you have a co-worker who is not getting emails and would like to, they can simply provide contact here: https://join.unifor.org/gardaworld

As always, please send us a message through the contacts below if you have any questions.

If you missed any of our previous emails, please feel free to check them out here.

Bruce Fafard //Unifor National Representative // [email protected] // 587-341-0945

Justin Gniposky // Unifor National Representative // [email protected] // 416-275-6389