December 30, 2025
On December 28, 2025, elected members of the IAMAW Tech Ops Negotiation Sub-Committee objected to the union’s plan to serve Air Canada with a notice to bargain in January 2026. This open letter published the context of AMFA’s pending application to represent a unit of skilled maintenance employees at Air Canada, and the IAMAW’s attempts to stall AMFA’s certification through protracted litigation.
The letter first describes the IAMAW’s efforts to subvert the independence previously exercised by Tech Ops negotiation committees in previous rounds of bargaining. Under the new negotiation structure imposed by the IAMAW, the Tech Ops Sub-Committee will serve a purely advisory role. All actual bargaining will be conducted behind closed doors by IAMAW executives. This change to the negotiating structure comes as a result of IAMAW International’s decision to place District Lodge 140 under supervision due to conflict between maintenance and non-maintenance groups.
The Tech Ops Sub-Committee letter further objects to any bargaining process at Air Canada while AMFA’s application remains pending:
[W]e cannot support or legitimize a bargaining process that denies meaningful representation, subverts democratic principles, disregards Board guidance, and proceeds in defiance of the Canada Labour Code. To do so would be a disservice to the very employees we were elected to represent.
This strong statement by the Tech Ops Sub-Committee reflects the IAMAW’s continued inability to advocate for and respect the wishes of the aviation maintenance professionals it represents.
Sincerely,
Bret Oestreich
National President
