It's interesting how people react when they're treated like people.
Last week, I wrote a column that featured my neighbour Kathy Courtney, a mother of two teenage boys and an Air Canada flight attendant.
I spoke with her the day after she had formally been told that, along with 300 flight attendant layoffs in Vancouver, the Winnipeg and Halifax flight-attendant bases would be closing come November.
In its official notification, Air Canada referred to the hundreds of affected flight attendants as "surplus."
As if they were disposable pieces of equipment, instead of long-serving and valued employees -- and people.
Air Canada blamed sky-high fuel prices for the "difficult" decision. The flight attendants' union believes it's simply a convenient excuse for ridding Air Canada of higher-salaried senior staff who won't be bothered to relocate to Toronto, or attempt to fly standby to work there.
Kathy's story -- she had only recently returned to work after being off for two years battling breast cancer -- inspired colleagues from across the country to speak out themselves.
I have chosen to withhold some of the names of current Air Canada employees.
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FROM HALIFAX. . .
I am an Air Canada flight attendant in Halifax with 30 years of seniority.
It is cold comfort to the dedicated employees at Winnipeg and Halifax (and the 300 in Vancouver) to be referred to as SURPLUS. We will all have to commute to Toronto and bump the most junior flight attendants who are there. This will greatly affect the personal lives of many employees and their families, and may have unforeseen negative repercussions for Air Canada's bottom line. Remember that the junior employees in Toronto, who will ultimately pay the price for this, are also the lowest paid of Air Canada's 7,000 flight attendants (about $19,000 per year). I think I understand the realities of the new financial environment but I disagree with the assumption that the company will save money by closing these crew bases. I suspect there are other reasons behind Air Canada's decision.
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FROM TORONTO. . .
I am a flight attendant in Toronto but have very fond memories of living in Winnipeg. I was forced to move there in the late '80s coming back from a layoff. I loved the city, the people, the lake and all that it had to offer. I returned home and left Winnipeg behind. Sometimes I wonder if I should have stayed.
My brother and his wife are both flight attendants in Halifax. They can commute (fly standby) to Toronto and stay with me, but like Winnipeg, it is a tough, stressful commute. They have teenage children who will be attending university so they will need to keep working. I really am worried about them. Thanks for showing the empathy and caring the company cannot.
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FROM VANCOUVER...
I cried when I read your article.
I am a Vancouver-based flight attendant with Air Canada and we are still all in shock from the news. The trickle-down effect will hurt everyone not just the YWG (Winnipeg) and YHG (Halifax) flight attendants.
We are all still reeling.
It's nice to know that people out there care.
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FROM CALGARY... Unlike Kathy, I have only worked 10 years for this company. All the while, I have been treated as only a number in the system and not a person. When I read the company's announcement of layoffs and their use of the word surplus, it didn't even move me. You see, for us it is so commonplace to be treated so impersonally, it no longer fazes us. I can tell you, the use of such a word escaped most of us. It was not until I read your article that I came to a shocking realization: They see us as only numbers, they consider us surplus, and that is why we are so easily disposable in their minds. Thank you for reminding me not to accept the use of such language to define my role as a worker, and for taking the time to tell this very moving story. I hope it brings the point across to your readers about the very human face of those affected by this terrible turn of events.
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FROM A RETIRED FLIGHT ATTENDANT... I started my career as a flight attendant in Winnipeg (1970) and I am shocked to hear this sad news. Some of my former colleagues still are flying and I am in disbelief. I hope that your comments will underscore how unfair this is especially in light of the fact that the pilots have been allowed to be based there and the costs can be shared. With only 145 flight attendants left (in Winnipeg) it would be a classier act to allow them to fly out their careers. However, in the past few years Air Canada continues to treat their employees with no respect or sensitivity. I am thankful that I retired two years ago. The history of the Winnipeg base is rich and with the merger of Air Canada and its cousins in the industry, Trans Air, Pacific Western and CP, this base closure is an insult to the many years that those employees have invested. At least with support from the media and the public, if Winnipeg base goes down in flames it will be noticed with due respect.
Gerry May (formerly Taillieu)
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The Winnipeg and Halifax flight attendant bases don't have to go down in flames.
The union is fighting the closures.
And you can try to help save them by contacting your member of Parliament and voicing your concern.
The web address to send a message to your MP is: http://cupe.ca/action/winnipeg.
It seems that flight or fight has taken on a whole new meaning.
gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
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