For Immediate Release - September 15, 2017
Winnipeg, MB – Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Union of Canadian Transport Employees (UCTE) at the Winnipeg Airport encourage participation in today’s United Way Plane Pull event.
The property the Plane Pull is held on, the Red River Stevenson Campus, is leased airport property. As well, the President and CEO of Red River Community College, Paul Vogt, is the Winnipeg Airport Authority’s (WAA) own appointee on the Board of Directors.
“We are taking this opportunity to share our message, and to show our support for the important work of United Way,” said Marianne Hladun, PSAC Prairies Regional Executive Vice-President. “Some of our members have participated in this event in the past. We recognize the significance of the United Way campaign and see employers and workers uniting to make our community stronger as an example of the importance of healthy labour relations.”
The approximately 150 employees represented by UCTE Local 50600 who work as duty managers, administrative workers, various tradespersons, IT workers, airfield maintenance, and labourers at the Winnipeg Airport have been on strike since July 24, 2017, and without a contract since June 30, 2016. Despite the best efforts of members and their negotiating team, the WAA refuses to back down on contracting out employees’ work and putting jobs at risk.
“Our members are a part of the community, and when in the workplace are also donors and supporters of the Winnipeg United Way. We welcome participants in the Plane Pull and ask that they take the time to read the materials we will be handing out, and support our call for a fair deal,” said Hladun.
PSAC represents more than 170,000 workers across Canada, including nearly 8,000 in Manitoba and 150 employees at the Winnipeg Airports Authority. UCTE is a component of PSAC, which represents workers in both the public sector—Transport Canada, Canadian Coast Guard, Parks Canada—and private sector—Airports and NAV Canada.
For more information please contact:
Thomas Linner
Regional Communications Officer
Phone: 204-943-5499
Email: linnert@psac.com