Author Archives: Grain and General Services Union

Canada Day 2021 – What is the appropriate and respectful way to celebrate … or should we be celebrating at all?

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There has been considerable debate about Canada Day celebrations.

The tragic discoveries of unmarked graves at Canada’s Residential Schools sites has left many of us unsure how to appropriately and respectfully celebrate Canada Day, and if Canada Day 2021 is a day we should be celebrating. Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme’s shared his thoughts on the upcoming statutory holiday when he was interviewed on CBC’s The National on June 27.

“I would never tell somebody what to and what not to celebrate. You know, in 2021, we all inherited this. Nobody today created residential schools. Nobody today created the Indian Act. Nobody today created the Sixties Scoop. But we all inherited this. And if we want to say we’re proud Canadians, then we will accept the beautiful country we have today, and we will accept what we all inherited.

And what I would challenge is: Everybody on Canada Day in this country, if you say you’re a proud Canadian, read the Truth and Reconciliation ‘Calls to Action.’ Over 100,000 residential school survivors told their story – including my parents – and they created the Truth and Reconciliation ‘Calls to Action.’ Bring that into your personal life, your social life, your business life. And read the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls ‘Calls to Action.’ There’s 231 Calls to Action. If we can all own those a little bit in this country, in one generation we would overcome so many challenges today, that our next generation won’t inherit this. We will make them more as Dreamers.”

You can watch the complete interview with Chief Delorme starting at :36 in the clip, above.

WE’RE WORKING ON IT: Members seek union assistance to address unsanitary lunchroom issues

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When GSU members felt unheard and frustrated about lunchroom conditions that made them want to lose their lunch, they turned to the union for help.

The first step to solving a problem is to check in with supervisors and managers to bring the problem to their attention and request a resolution. Ideally, situations are met with a quick fix, a good reason why things are the way they are, or an agreement to find a solution. Other times, concerns aren’t acknowledged or addressed and it’s time to call the union for backup.

After problems remained and even worsened despite their repeated requests for action, GSU members contacted GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson for assistance with their nasty lunchroom. Torgerson filed a complaint with company management and is awaiting a response.

“A lunch room should be a clean and sanitary area where employees can take a break from work and enjoy their lunch,” Torgerson said. “Preparing and eating your lunch in a room that isn’t as clean as your physical work area is definitely a problem.”

If you need some advice about how to approach management with a problem, don’t hesitate to call your GSU staff rep. No problem is too small and sometimes a brief comment, email, or meeting is all that’s needed to address a situation. Call us when you think there is a problem to be fixed. Our services are provided to you as part of your union dues and there is never an additional charge for assisting you.

Office facelift underway at the GSU Regina office

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GSU’s Regina office is receiving some much needed work. The aging brick exterior needed some TLC and the options were to repoint it or change things up with stucco. The decision was made to do latter.

“The building is owned by GSU, and that means we aren’t paying a mortgage or monthly rental for office space and parking,” said GSU’s assistant general secretary Lynn Woods. “There has been discussion in the past whether it was better to rebuild, move to a rented location, or maintain the building we own. Ultimately, the benefits of the current office and it’s location made it desirable to do the needed upgrades and stay put where we are.”

As with any project, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right, and new windows will replace the wooden sliders now in place. The old flashing on the building was also cracking, bent, and failing, and stucco allows new flashing to be properly installed and that is welcome news as some water was starting to find its way into the building.

Regina’s Artistic Masonry & Stucco is busy doing their preliminary work in preparation for the window installation in August and the stucco application shortly after. It is expected the renovations will be complete by early autumn.

With COVID restrictions lifting we are able to welcome members back into the office again, so if you find yourself in Regina, drop by and see us at 2334 McIntyre Street. We’d be happy to show you around.

GSU’s executive committee meets, reviews recruiting process for staff rep vacancy, office renovations

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GSU’s executive committee comprising president Jim Brown, vice presidents Michelle Houlden and Curtis Cousins along with general secretary Hugh Wagner held a conference call meeting on June 17.

 The committee received an update on renovations to GSU’s office in Regina, considered proposals for donation requests, and covered other administrative matters including the process for recruiting a GSU staff representative to fill the vacancy created by Dale Markling’s retirement. Plans were also made for an in-person meeting of the union’s Joint Executive Council (board of directors) and a union education day in mid- to late September.

 Subject to approval by the Joint Executive Council, GSU will issue an advertisement of the staff representative vacancy in mid-August.

We’re accepting expressions of interest from GSU members wanting to become a GSU Defense Fund director

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The board of directors of the GSU Defense Fund  is responsible for overseeing the administration and investment of the Fund assets (currently $5.3 million). The primary purpose of the Fund is to provide income protection and assistance to GSU members who are engaged in a strike or lockout.

The board of directors meets three times a year by conference call and at least once per year in person. Time off work for directors to attend to Defense Fund business is paid for by GSU along with directors’ travel, meal and hotel expenses.

Members who are elected to the Joint Executive Council of GSU are not eligible for election to the Defense Fund Board of Directors. Of the five Defense Fund Directors, three are required to be from Local 1 (Viterra Ops/Maintenance) and/or Local 2 (Viterra Head Office) and/or Local 14 (Richardson) and/or Local 15 (Nutrien).

The current vacancies on the board are open to be filled by a GSU members in good standing who are employed in any certified GSU bargaining unit.

If you are interested in becoming a GSU Defense Fund director or learning more about the responsibilities of a director, contact GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner at Hugh@gsu.ca

Deadline for receipt of expressions of interest is July 30, 2021.

 

There have been staff responsibility changes at GSU. You can check them out here.

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The retirement of GSU staff rep Dale Markling has spurred a number of changes to staffing assignments and a redistribution of responsibilities for member service locations for the remaining staff.

A list of the current locals/sub-locals with locations and GSU staff assignments is available here.

It is anticipated that the vacant staff rep position will be filled in the autumn. In the meantime, GSU’s Saskatoon toll-free number has been routed to Regina and is still available for use by members. If you have any questions, contact us toll-free at 1.866.522.6686 or 1.855.384.7314.

GSU services are provided to you as part of your union dues. There is no additional charge for assisting you.

 

Grievance results in pressing necessity leave awarded and banked time/overtime/vacation restored to members

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When a severe winter storm prevented a number of GSU Local 1 members from attending work for all or part of their shifts on Nov. 9, 2020, they were required by their employer to use banked overtime or vacation to cover the missed hours of work. The members in question raised the issue with GSU and grievance action seeking pressing necessity leave was commenced.

“I’m happy to report that Viterra and GSU were able to resolve the grievance on a without prejudice basis and 12 affected employees will be granted pressing necessity leave as well as having their banked overtime or vacation time restored,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “By settling the matter without prejudice, neither side is giving up their position on the subject, but have agreed to resolve the matter in this instance without creating a precedent for future situations.”

If Local 1 members want a permanent solution for this kind of situation, grievance action will have to be pursued if it happens again or the issue can be addressed at the bargaining table at the next round of agreement renewal collective bargaining in 2022.
No problem is too small! Sometimes a brief comment, email, or meeting is all that’s needed to address a situation. Call us when you think there is a problem to be fixed. Our services are provided to you as part of your union dues and there is never an additional charge for assisting you.

The newly-signed Local 15 (Nutrien) collective agreement booklets are being distributed to members

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If you are a Local 15 (Nutrien) member you can expect to receive a copy of your newly-signed collective agreement booklet soon.

GSU staff reps are working through their spring visitation schedule and they are distributing agreements as they go. If a staff rep has already been through your area, we will be sending agreements your way by mail.

If you don’t receive a copy of your agreement in June, get in touch with us and we’ll get one in the mail to you. In the meantime, you can always view or print your agreement online on GSU’s web page at gsu.ca.

It’s our anniversary! Or is it our birthday? Either way, GSU is 85 years old

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According to GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner, June 6 marked the 85th anniversary of GSU.

 “The union was founded by country elevator and Regina head office employees of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in 1936 at the height of the Great Depression,” said Wagner. “Two of the early rallying points for union members were a pension plan and the eight-hour day.”

 A central current of the unionizing effort was the common desire for dignity and respect in the workplace. Many of the same themes prevail today, even though the working world and how it is organized have undergone dramatic changes in other respects.

 “I often think of the courage and solidarity of the early union pioneers as they undertook a noble cause under less than ideal circumstances,” Wagner said. “We could all use a booster shot of their spirit.”

ANOTHER PROBLEM SOLVED: GSU member to be paid for notice period

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Recently a GSU member gave a month’s notice that he was resigning his employment and would be taking a job with a competitor, albeit in another community. The local management’s response was to inform the employee that he was done immediately and his period of notice would be covered by banked time and/or unused vacation.
 
A call to GSU resulted in quick results for the member. His former employer will pay for all of the period of notice. In addition, the union member will be paid out his banked time and unused vacation.
 
“The overtime an employee has in the bank along with their accumulated vacation is their time and can’t be unilaterally assigned to cover an employer’s obligations,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “I’ve said it before and I’ll keep on saying that it pays to contact GSU to check out your rights.”

No problem is too small! Sometimes a brief comment, email, or meeting is all that’s needed to address a situation. Call us when you think there is a problem to be fixed. Our services are provided to you as part of your union dues and there is never an additional charge for assisting you.

GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson assumes responsibility for GSU members employed by Co-ops

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June 4 is GSU staff rep Dale Markling’s last day in the office before he retires, and GSU members working for Lake Country Co-op, Discovery Co-op, and Lloydminster Co-op are now being assisted by GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson. GSU members at Prairie Co-op are already working with Torgerson, and that will remain unchanged.

The impending retirement of Saskatoon-based GSU staff rep Dale Markling has lead to new staff assignments for GSU staff on a temporary basis, and we have been working closely with Dale to ensure a seamless transition.

If you have questions about which GSU staff member is assigned to assist members at your workplace, contact us in Regina toll-free at 1.866.522.6686.

Discovery brings sadness

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“The discovery of the remains of 215 children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School struck me with a profound sense of shock, sadness and shame,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “This is a horrific reminder of the genocide against First Nations and Indigenous peoples led and coordinated by the Canadian state.”

“Canada has so much to answer for and the calls to action by First Nations leaders must be heeded,” Wagner said.

GSU staff rep Donna Driediger assumes responsibility for Local 5 (Western Producer) and Local 6 (Wild West Steelhead)

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Effective immediately, GSU members working for The Western Producer or Wild West Steelhead can contact staff rep Donna Driediger at GSU’s Regina office if they require assistance.

Driediger is meeting with GSU staff rep Dale Markling this week to review Local 5 and 6 files in preparation for Markling’s June 4 departure. She is also arranging for distribution of the new collective agreement booklets to members in these two locals.

“I’ve been familiarizing myself with the Local 5 and 6 collective agreements, and I’m looking forward to my new responsibilities and meeting the members,” Driediger said. “I know I have some big shoes to fill and I’ll do my best to ensure GSU members receive the same focus and representation they received from Dale.”

The impending retirement of Saskatoon-based GSU staff rep Dale Markling has lead to new staff assignments for GSU staff on a temporary basis. We are working closely with Dale to ensure a seamless transition.

Further announcements will follow.

GSU to submit brief on supervisory employees

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GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner is preparing a written brief to Saskatchewan’s Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety regarding the status of supervisory employees under the Saskatchewan Employment Act (SEA).

“Following a two-year period of grace, on April 29, 2016 the SEA was amended to prohibit supervisory employees from being in the same bargaining unit as those employees they supervise. Thus ended 70 years of a sound feature of labour relations legislation in the province,” said Wagner. “This amendment was acted on by the Government of the day despite almost no one having asked for it, at least not on the record.”  

“Beginning with Saskatchewan’s first Trade Union Act in 1944 the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (SLRB) had the ability to inquire into each application for union certification brought before it and determine whether supervisory employees should or shouldn’t be included in the same collective bargaining unit as the employees they were supervising. The SLRB had the ability and expertise to make a determination on the basis of the facts and dynamics of a particular situation,” Wagner said.

“Between 1944 and 2014 the SLRB included supervisory employees in “all employee bargaining units” in the vast number of cases and stable labour relations prevailed. However, on April 29, 2014 the Government of Saskatchewan made it mandatory that supervisory employees cannot be included in the same barging unit as those they supervise. Interestingly, the construction industry and registered nurses were exempted from this amendment to the Saskatchewan Employment Act,” said Wagner.

A measure of stability on the subject of supervisory employees was returned to the equation in January of 2017 when the SLRB ruled that the automatic exclusion of supervisory employees from the same bargaining unit as those they supervised did not apply to existing certified bargain units and would only apply to new certification applications. This decision, known as “Saskatoon Public Library” stood until reconsidered and reversed by the SLRB in February 2021 in a case involving the University of Saskatchewan and the Administrative and Supervisory Employees Association. As matters now stand the situation is not clear and judicial review is being pursued by a number of unions who argue, amongst other things, that the mandatory exclusion of supervisory employees under the SEA is a violation of the right to freedom of association protected under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Amidst the litigation on this subject, in mid-April the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety asked for submissions. GSU will be tendering a brief urging that the SEA be amended to return matters to the pre-2014 status quo.

“While there is much to criticize and improve on in the Saskatchewan Employment Act the carte blanche exclusion of supervisory employees stands as a particularly egregious feature of the legislation and it should be eliminated,” Wagner said. “GSU’s brief will propose that things be returned to normal.”

Advocating for labour legislation favourable to working people and their unions is part of GSU’s mission and mandate.

GSU staff responsibilities reassigned as Dale Markling’s retirement draws closer

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You will soon hear the voice of a different staff representative when you call GSU’s Saskatoon office for assistance. On June 7 our Saskatoon office and toll-free numbers will be rerouted to Regina where you can speak to staff representatives Donna Driediger, Steve Torgerson, or general secretary Hugh Wagner for assistance.

The impending retirement of Saskatoon-based GSU staff rep Dale Markling has also led to new staff assignments for GSU staff on a temporary basis, and we are working closely with Dale to ensure a seamless transition.

Further announcements will follow.