Employer Letters Re: Vacation Pay and Job Security

We want to draw your attention to two letters recently sent to your Union from the Employer in regards to the labour dispute at Hertz.

First Letter: Hertz Denies Vacation Pay as an Economic Tool to End Strike - Its Your Money and They Refuse to Give It to You

Hertz announced they are denying payment of your pre-approved vacation time. They say this is consistent with “economic tools that are used to resolve labour disputes...." The letter from Hertz’ lawyers is attached to this bulletin. 

Your Union vehemently disagrees with this position. To deny pre-approved vacations as a pressure tactic is offensive. Many of you have told us you’ve made commitments of both time and money. Some members have bought plane tickets and booked accommodations. And now the Employer refuses to pay you the money you have already earned.

We have asked our lawyers to explore all options available to reinstate your vacation pay. In the meantime, if you have pre-approved vacation coming up, please discuss your options with Ryan Stewart.

Second Letter: Hertz Wants Flexible Job Security, from Paul Dorion

You may have received a letter from Paul Dorion on Hertz letterhead from South McDonald Road. As you know, Mr. Dorion works out of the province.

As to the content of the letter, we wish to address the misleading information provided by Mr. Dorion.

Mr. Dorion, along with Steve Conliffe and Jeff Nayda, told us the wage increases and the signing bonus were off the table. They were only prepared to agree to job security language as long as the clause ended with the weasel words “…unless business circumstances as determined by the company dictate otherwise” Their proposal made the job security language meaningless.

As Mr. Dorion states, Hertz likes the "flexibility to respond to economic conditions." As employees of Hertz, you have seen what Hertz means by “flexibility.” It has meant the entire Handheld Instant Return (HIR) department was turned into a part-time workforce. It has meant an increase use of part-time hours in the Service Agent and Customer Service Representative areas. Hertz now has the highest use of part-time workers of all the rental companies we represent at YVR.

Comparison of Part-time hours vs. Full time positions at YVR car rentals: 

When you consider this in ratios:

• 11% of the Avis employees in the CSR and HIR position are working part time hours
• 17% of the National employees in the CSR and HIR position are working part-time hours
• 41% of the Hertz employees in the CSR and HIR position are working part-time hours

While Hertz expects workers to be flexible, over the last two years, no managers have been asked to work part-time. No managers have been laid off due to economic conditions.

The question to ask yourself is this: If Hertz has no plans to turn your full-time jobs into part-time, why won't they put that into the agreement? Their second final offer does nothing to improve the protection of full-time workers from becoming part-time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us anytime at the Union office: 604.299.0378. 

In solidarity,

Robert Derby, Vice President
Brad Bastien, Senior Union Representative