Fellow pilots,

As your elected Master Executive Council (MEC) Chair, it is my pleasure to reach out to you with the following negotiating update.

On Tuesday, with the assistance of ALPA Canada Vice President, Rod Lypchuk, and ALPA Canada Vice President of Administration and Finance, Louis-Eric Mongrain, we held our first in-person meeting with the company. Our goal was to set the parameters for our negotiating process, slated to begin in January 2024.

The meeting was cordial and we expect negotiations to remain focused and professional throughout. We made our initial bargaining positions clear, and the company communicated an understanding of the challenges facing our airline, and our pilot group. They have also expressed a commitment to negotiating a modernized contract that reflects new developments in the Canadian aviation industry.

Before negotiations formally begin, we will continue to work with ALPA’s leadership, legal counsel, and economic and financial analysts to ensure we are fully prepared.

This work also includes completing preparations for an upcoming survey that we anticipate sending to the pilot group in early January. The feedback and input we receive from the pilot group, on what matters most to you in a contract will influence and further guide how our negotiating team will proceed during negotiations.

We feel confident in our approach, especially after seeing the tremendous job ALPA has done negotiating contracts in 2023 for fellow EIC groups at Wasaya and Calm Air, along with new collective agreements at WestJet and the recently merged Perimeter/Bearskin group.

As negotiations formally begin in the new year, we commit to being as transparent as possible. If you have any questions, please reach out.

MEC Chair Lahiru Gunawardhana - Lahiru.Gunawardhana@alpa.org
MEC Vice Chair Fraser Mackeen - Fraser.Mackeen@alpa.org
MEC Secretary Treasurer Matt Caissie - Matt.Caissie@alpa.org

In the meantime, on behalf of our MEC, I want to wish you all a safe and happy holiday.

In Unity,

Lahiru Gunawardhana

MEC Chair