Jazz Air Union Ratifies 3-Year Collective Agreement

September 14, 2009 5:24 a.m. EST

Halifax, Nova Scotia (AHN) - The Canadian Auto Workers Local 2002 will ink a 3-year collective agreement with Jazz Air after 61 percent of the union's 900 employees ratified a deal reached on Aug. 30.

The agreement would grant the workers who maintain the aircraft of Jazz Airlines a six percent salary hike spread over three years. They are also responsible for running line operations at airports in Halifax, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

CAW national president Ken Lewenza said in a statement, "We are proud of the work of the bargaining committee and what they were able to bargain in these challenging times. The new agreement moves everyone forward."

It is the first collective agreement negotiated and ratified by CAW Local 2002. Previous agreements with Jazz Air were reached through arbitration or through Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act process.

Bargaining Committee chairperson John Murawesky recalled that are the start of the negotiation, "The bargaining committee and the employer started miles apart but armed with the strong mandate of 95 percent, the CAW was able to move the employer to a position so that all workers made progress."

Jazz Air president and chief executive officer Joseph Randell expressed satisfaction with the ratification of the agreement, which he considers a vital step for Jazz to renew its 2009 labor contracts. Jazz Air, the second largest air carrier in Canada in terms of fleet size, has also entered into an interim deal with workers from its Customer Services and Aircraft Services units, also represented by CAW. The deal is still yet to be ratified by union members.

Jazz Air has 830 flights a day to 84 U.S. and Canadian destinations.