Episode 53 - SPSC Summit

In this edition of the MEC Video Podcast, MEC Vice Chair First Officer Barret Armann sits down with SPSC Chair Captain Russ Martin to discuss recent strategic planning meetings and the state of CA3 preparations.

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Transcript

0:08

Well, good afternoon, Russ. Good afternoon. How are you doing? I'm doing good. Good to see you again. You too. We have just finished our SPSC Family Awareness Conference here in Toronto. It was actually really nice. The Air Canada pilots, uh, lent us their offices for the past couple of days. We're in their, uh, sound room right now filming this podcast, uh, for the entire membership. I think it was really exceptional what we saw. Uh, but there is a couple of elephants that came out in the room in the first day that should definitely be addressed. Now, I know SPSC, uh, as we prepare, uh, towards bargaining 2026, we need to have unity within the group. And I know that there was a fracture because, well, both of us came together. I came from Sunwing, you're original WestJet. Yeah. But everybody in the room agreed that this needs to end and we need to work together. We need to move on. And as we move towards collective bargaining, there is simply one message, and that's one pilot group, one goal, end of story. And so I know in the campaign letter that I sent out, I said, "Start every day with a handshake in the flight deck, share stories, get together." The infighting is over. I'm moving on. You're moving on. Everybody on the committees that I met are moving on, and we're all working together really hard, which is really good. Agreed. What we have to understand is we are not the enemies. Out there, there is an enemy, and that's where we need to focus. What are a couple of the takeaways that you got from this week? Uh, an incredible amount of groundwork has been laid. Yeah. Uh, we have... From behind the scenes, it's, it, it's kinda like looking at the iceberg. Nine-tenths of it is underneath the water. So to the pilot group, it may not seem like a lot is going on. And from prior to my volunteer time to now, I can say that when you're on the inside looking out now, you have a different perspective on, on what that looks like. So as the, as now the SPSC chair and, and kind of being, being a part of the process, uh, what we're seeing is all of the work that's getting done behind the scenes to prepare to get ready for what CA-3 is gonna look like. So from the end of CA-2 into CA-3 and all of the preparations that are taking place, I'm proud, I'm proud of what we've done so far and how we've come together as a group. And to address the elephant in the room- Yeah... um, there are still rifts on the line From what I see and from what I'm being told through our, through our volunteers on the line, the rifts are not as big as what some may make them out to be. Yeah. Uh, we have a lot more in common than, uh, anybody truly kinda gives it credit for. Mm-hmm. When we come together and we fly the aircraft, we start, start our day with a handshake and, and we, we, uh, we, we follow through with our procedures and our SOPs, as pilots do. Um, that's the first unifying piece. It's, it's, it's our occupation. It's what we do. Um, so everything else is noise and static around us, and the more that we can not give that oxygen and feed into that, the less we're helping others, uh, divide us, uh, and to keep us fractured and splintered. So I would say that the groundwork, uh, what we've achieved... I'll just, just go back to May 1st. Yeah. We, uh, we met. We, uh, we took care of our strat plan. So the strategy plan is in place for CA3. Um, I, I saw the, the unity in the room and the a- the agreement in the room. Um, you could, you could tell that energy was there. Everybody on the same page. And everybody's on the same page. In fact, they were standing. Yeah. Which is good. Yeah. And everybody that supports us behind the scenes too. You can't, can't forget the people, um, that make all of the pieces fit together, uh, and assist us in that process. So the strat plan was, was a huge piece May 1st. Um, now we're coming off the tail end of this, May 11th, 12th. Uh, we just finished our internal SPSC, uh, meetings, and that kinda helps us drill down on, on the really important, uh, parts that we have to focus on to, to make sure we get all those pieces right. Yeah. Yeah. So those are the big things that I took away from, um, from in that. And the, the rest of it, the hurts and the pains, we have to acknowledge, uh, that have occurred within our, within our group. Um, they're healing. Uh, we are seeing evidence that they are healing. The, the groups are coming together and, uh, I'm really proud of that. The, 'cause they're, it takes every person who shows up to work remaining professional, choosing to be that consummate professional on the line, and, uh, putting all those things aside and doing the work that needs to be done. Yeah. Let's build together. Yeah. We're done with the separation. One pilot group, you know, one- One goal ... one goal. The, i- and, uh, that's kind of what we're coming away from these meetings on, uh, unified in that- Yeah ... in, in where we're headed. That's true. And there was that presentation that we had, I think during the lunch hour there, uh, which I think will uni- unite sort of not just the pilots but all WestJetters. I think so too. And I think- Yeah ... I can't wait for that to go out. I think it's gonna go out in the fall. Yeah. Uh, and then away we go together. It is an eye-opener. It is. Not a lot of people know- Nope... that particular component of- That's how, how the sausage gets made. That's right. So that, that will be interesting to- It will be ... to see that kinda come out. Excited. Yeah. Excited for that. Yeah, of course. Yeah. One other thing I wanted to touch on is, uh, this group's worth. They're worth a lot, and I wanna make sure that they know that. In fact, they're the hardest working pilots in the industry We work more days and more hours for less and less each time- Yeah than anybody else. And I think that's a focus as we move into the fall negotiation. It, it can kinda come across as kitschy. Like everybody says it- Yeah ... overwork, underpaid- Yeah ... blah, blah, blah. That, that what we have to focus on is, is... We forget, like we're, we're an incredibly skilled group of prof- professionals- We are that are asked to, to take on a lot of responsibility in the run of a day. And because we are, we're zeroed in, we're trained, like every six months we're back in the sim. We're, we're, we're going through, we're ticking all the boxes to, uh, to make sure that we're prepared. Um, we're, you know, we're reading all our memos, and we're- Yeah we're doing all the things that are asked of us. Uh, and it's, it's easy to not remember how it is we got here and- True ... and the professionals, uh, that we are on the line. And really, it was through hard work. Yeah. Years and years of experience. And I think everybody needs to understand that if there aren't two pilots in the flight deck, WestJet doesn't fly. I was at Canada Board, uh, just three weeks ago talking to the big three. We were one of them there, and ALPA represents pretty much every pilot in the country now, and that's a lot of power of a union, and all of us rowing in the same direction. That's powerful. Yeah, it is. Yeah, and it takes more than... We have an incredible group of volunteers within our, within our organization that make all of these bits and pieces work. Um, but we can't forget this group, this pilot group- Yeah ... is the biggest part of that, uh, that, of the puzzle. Uh, this- Yeah ... this is it. We, we get to choose- Yeah ... uh, how this all goes down. We get to take ownership of all of the pieces, um, of this. And, uh, small things can make a big difference. Small choices can make a big difference. Choosing for the, like you said, choosing the handshake in the morning. That's right. I think that's a, that's a huge piece of it. Uh, put your best foot forward. That's right. We're, we're all professionals. Let's do it together. Yeah. I agree. Any final comments? Uh, lots of final comments. Um, as professional pilots, I think it's, um, uh, our responsibility now, uh, that, uh, we remain professionals on the line. And, uh, if something unexpected happens, uh, it doesn't matter if it's on a flight deck or in our, or in our, uh, union, um, our responsibility is to remain calm, work the problem as a crew, you know, treat it like we're in the simulator. Um, identify the problem, come up with a solution as a crew together, and then enact the, the solution. And- Yeah ... if you have any other information that comes in, uh, information that presents itself at that time, then we reassess and we come up with a new plan. So I would say our, uh, do what pilots do- You know, remain professional on the line in all of your conduct, uh, whether that be on the flight deck, uh, with your crews, uh, on time or off, off time, and, uh, uh, on chat groups, same thing. Yeah. Uh, let's just be, be professionals. And thank you for being, being professionals because that's what it's gonna take to, uh, push this across the line. Yeah. And I mean, look at your shirt. What does that say? ALPA. ALPA. It's one union- Mm-hmm... for one pilot group. Mm-hmm. All the pilot groups in the country now. Yeah. So let's work together. Absolutely. That's the whole purpose. I agree. Now, 'cause this was the SPSC, uh, conference and planning, et cetera, I, uh, happened to bring, uh, a bag of tools that I, that I use sometimes. If you wouldn't mind, uh, we can go through them. Sure. Mm-hmm. This is not the ALPA toolkit? No. No. This is my own personal toolkit. Okay. So people that know me know that I hate l- loose bolts, and I wanna make sure they're tight. Loose bolts, it's not gonna work, so I always bring my wrench. Another tool I find super effective for those pesky nails that just don't go in- ... this bad boy right here. It's pretty precise. No problem. Gets the job done. Mm-hmm. But I always find to get that nail to go in, you gotta cut through the first. This gets the job done. All right. Works great. Cut the crap. And when all else fails, I really actually hate 'cause it usually causes a lot of damage, but it always gets the job done. My personal favorite, the sledgehammer. Use this, it's a sure win every time. Last, l- la- That's the last one you wanna- It's the last one. Yeah. When it just doesn't go in- ... that always gets the job done. Use that one. Yeah. Russ, thanks for joining me. It was a great time. Super excited about bargaining 2026. Pleasure. I'm looking forward to every bit and- Right on. Thanks.