Tag Archives: airlines

Canadian Transportation Agency Calls for Public Consultation

Since December 2014, the Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) has been lobbying to ensure safe carriage of musical instruments on Canadian airline carriers. On May 24, the Canadian Transportation Act (CTA) received Royal Assent. The Canadian Transport Agency has since announced the dates for public consultations, as part of the process to develop regulations in air passenger protection, including musical instruments.

The CFM was effective in ensuring that this legislation passed in the House of Commons and the Senate, and will make a formal submission in Ottawa on July 4. However, comments from our professional musicians are also vital to ensure that the regulations truly reflect the needs of all musicians. We encourage musicians to send in thoughts and experiences through the CTA website http://www.airpassengerprotection.ca/instruments (French: https://www.protectionpassagersaeriens.ca/instruments-de-musique). If you do join this effort by sending your individual submission, we ask that you also mention that you are an AFM/CFM member who supports the CFM’s initiative to make “musical instruments as carry-on regulations for Canada harmonize with regulations in the US.” Alternatively, if you feel more comfortable in doing so, please feel free to instead send your thoughts to AFM/CFM International Representative Allistair Elliott (aelliott@afm.org) who will be presenting the submissions for CFM and who will be appearing in the interest of all Canadian musicians.

For more information about the Canadian Transportation Act (CTA) websites: http://www.airpassengerprotection.ca/. (French: https://www.protectionpassagersaeriens.ca/)




La nouvelle Loi sur les transports au Canada (LTC) a reçu la sanction royale le jeudi 24 mai 2018. L’Office des transports du Canada a annoncé depuis les dates prévues pour la consultation publique dans le cadre du processus visant à l’élaboration des règlements pour la protection des passagers aériens, ce qui comprend les dispositions régissant le transport des instruments de musique. 

La FCM a déployé beaucoup d’efforts afin de veiller à ce que la législation soit adoptée à la Chambre des communes et au Sénat. Pour la suite des choses, nous présenterons un mémoire officiel le 4 juillet 2018 à Ottawa. À cet égard, les commentaires des musiciens professionnels joueront un rôle crucial afin de faire en sorte que les règlements adoptés répondent vraiment aux besoins de tous les musiciens. Nous vous encourageons par conséquent à faire part de vos idées, commentaires et expériences par le biais du site Web de l’Office des transports du Canada : https://www.protectionpassagersaeriens.ca/instruments-de-musique (anglais : http://www.airpassengerprotection.ca/instruments).

Si vous décidez de vous joindre à cet effort et d’envoyer une soumission écrite à l’OTC, nous vous demandons de mentionner que vous êtes membre de la FCM/FAM et que vous appuyez l’initiative de la FCM pour que « les règlements du Canada concernant le transport des instruments de musique comme bagage de cabine soient harmonisés avec ceux des États-Unis ». Si cela vous convient mieux, vous pouvez plutôt envoyer vos idées et commentaires à notre représentant international Allistair Elliott (aelliott@afm.org), qui déposera les soumissions pour le compte de la FCM et qui fera les représentations au nom de tous les musiciens.

Vous trouverez ci-dessous la liste de questions de l’Office des transports du Canada pour la consultation publique sur la protection des passagers aériens. 

Pour plus de renseignements, vous pouvez consulter le site Web de l’OTC à ce sujet : https://www.protectionpassagersaeriens.ca/

(anglais : http://www.airpassengerprotection.ca/)

Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants Picket Love Field

Pilots, mechanics, ramp workers, and flight attendants picketed Southwest Airline’s Dallas Love Field home base, calling for the replacement of CEO Gary Kelly and COO Mike Van de Ven, following July’s system-wide technical outage that disrupted thousands of flights and left flight attendants stranded at airports. Workers’ unions are critical of current management for not adequately investing in the company’s operations and putting the needs of shareholders ahead of employees during a time of record profitability.

“The recent technical outage was kind of the last straw for us,” says Audrey Stone, president of Transport Workers Union Local 556, which organized the picket. Several unions have been attempting to negotiate new contracts with Southwest for almost four years. Aside from financial issues, the negotiations center on quality of life issues—scheduling, length of workdays, and vacation.

The Love Field picket coincided with demonstrations at other Southwest crew bases, including airports in Houston, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Oakland, and Orlando.

Useful AFM Legislative-Political Tools

Over the past two years, the AFM Office of Government Relations has developed new tools to help both local officers and our members navigate the many policy and political matters relevant to musicians. This month I would like to highlight these tools in an effort to make them easier to access. Each is available on our website for your use. I look forward to working with members, local officers, and conferences to help make more useful resources. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

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