GSU offices will be closed on Jan. 3.
A majority of 72.81 percent of members voting at GSU annual meetings have voted to approve a motion to continue the additional dues being paid into the GSU Defense Fund for another year. Votes on the additional dues were conducted in conjunction with annual union Local and Sub-local meetings held this fall.
Each employee working in a GSU bargaining unit pays additional dues of one percent of regular pay to a maximum of $10 per month into the GSU Defense Fund. The additional union dues are accumulated in the GSU Defense Fund where they are invested and held in reserve to pay strike/lockout pay, benefits continuation and strike/lockout administrative expenses in the event GSU members are engaged in a strike or lockout stemming from a collective bargaining dispute.
Strike or lockout pay from the GSU Defense Fund is currently set at 75 percent of a member’s regular pay provided they are active participants in strike or lockout actions sanctioned by GSU.
The Defense Fund currently has assets of $5.4 million (market value) and is administered by a board of directors elected by delegates to GSU biennial policy conventions. The current directors of the GSU Defenses Fund are:
The membership vote conducted this fall marks the 25th consecutive year that a majority of GSU members attending annual union meetings have voted to approve the additional dues being paid into the Defense Fund.
If you have questions or concerns about the GSU Defense Fund, contact your staff representative.
Staff representative Steve Torgerson is assisting a GSU member who is struggling to receive the correct pay for hours they worked this autumn.
“Payroll systems are complex,” said Torgerson. “By attempting to reduce human error and maximize efficiency using automated programs, the factors of human assessment and reasoning have been eliminated. For this particular GSU member, the reduction of human interaction in the payroll process is creating problems when the payroll program’s strict automated triggers are applied.”
Fortunately, the member had maintained thorough records of their time at work.
“Members should independently track their hours and compare them to the company’s recorded hours and then again when they get their pay stubs,” Torgerson advises. “Pay close attention and be aware of your hours, overtime and double overtime, any shift premiums, sick leave and vacations. Write it all down.”
If you have any questions or require clarification, don’t hesitate to reach out to a GSU staff rep.
Our services are provided to you as part of your union dues and there is never an additional charge for assisting you. Contact information for GSU staff representatives is available on our web page at gsu.ca.
If someone asks if you have donated to help the people affected by flooding in British Columbia, you can tell them yes, you have – through your union.
In response to the widespread hardship resulting from the recent flooding, GSU’s executive committee has approved a $5,000 donation from the union’s solidarity account* to the Red Cross appeal covering the BC floods and extreme weather catastrophe.
“At times like this it is crucial for our society to pull together to help those in need,” said GSU president Jim Brown. “The sheer scale and extent of the devastation caused by the flooding and extreme weather in so much of BC is mind boggling. Hopefully GSU’s donation, along with those of many others, will provide direct help and hope for the people who must do the hard work of recovering.”
*GSU maintains a solidarity account to help those in need by allocating 50 cents per member per month out of the regular monthly dues paid by union members. While primarily dedicated to providing assistance to members of unions who are on strike or locked out, GSU’s solidarity account is also available to respond to humanitarian causes.
The holiday season is just around the corner. Assuming we aren’t sent to our respective corners by another wave of COVID, there will be holiday gatherings and inevitably we will encounter off-colour and outdated jokes and comments that have no place in society.
Whether it’s racist, homophobic, use of the r-word, body-shaming or any other variety of insult, there is no place at work, family gatherings, or anywhere else for comments that put others down or passively-aggressively imply putting them in their place.
Chances are that if you make it clear that you don’t find this type of joke-teller’s sense of humour funny, others may find it easier to speak up and say that they agree with you. Worst case scenario, by voicing your displeasure you will reduce the likelihood of those individuals feeling comfortable enough to make inappropriate remarks or jokes in your presence in the future.
Here are a few hints and responses to let others know that you are not a receptive audience to their outdated slang or attempts at humour:
Learn more here about jokes that aren’t funny and how to respond:
From the Tuesday Members’ Memo – Nov. 30, 2021
Our path to reconciliation includes listening, learning, and creating opportunities for education and participation within GSU. On the last Tuesday of each month we will be sharing a short piece of information in our Tuesday Members’ Memo that we hope will inspire you to learn more about the topic, and ultimately contribute to a shared future of reconciliation.
Before Canada existed as a country, what is now Eastern Canada had a two-fold attraction to the land to the west. Like their neighbours to the south, Eastern Canada was keen to expand into the resource and land-rich Prairie Region, and they risked losing it to a rapidly expanding and aggressive United States. Opting for a different path, Central Canada chose a more diplomatic approach, and began the process of signing Treaties.
Between 1871 and 1921, Treaties one through eleven were signed in rapid succession, forming formal contracts between two sovereign nations.
Before these Treaties were signed, several First Nations lived in what is now modern-day Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, North Dakota, and Alberta. Each of which had a rich history of using Treaties for inter-tribal affairs that were used for trade, safe passage, alliances, and access to resources and shared ancestral land. These relationships were based on reciprocity, respect, and coexistence, and were reaffirmed with ceremonies and protocol. They were to be renewed with regular dialogue, and the original spirit and intent of the agreement were to persist generation after generation. When French, American, and English interests began to collide, potential hostility began to grow. To secure tactical alliances, and to protect their inherited claim to their land, First Nation people used their expertise with Treaties and invited the then English Government to begin a fruitful relationship.
Stretching from Eastern Ontario to the North-West Territories, the Treaties are often mistaken as symbolic, when they are in fact contracts between two sovereign nations. In return for access to the land (intended for agricultural settlements), the government was to respect their traditions of hunting, fishing, trapping, and to supply medicine, clothing, agricultural supplies, and education. This also kept the United States from encroaching on now newly acquired Canadian-First Nation territory without unnecessary war and violence.
Learn more here:
There is so much more to learn!
GSU is building a truth and reconciliation lending library. If you have resources you would recommend for our library or are interested in borrowing a book, contact staff rep Mason Van Luven at Mason@gsu.ca.
The point of using your health benefits isn’t just to use up the money – it’s to make sure that you are getting the medications, treatments and help you need to feel and be your best mentally and physically. Self-care is particularly important as we all cope with the stresses of living and working through a global pandemic.
Check your collective agreement for details on your account, and – as always – don’t hesitate to contact your GSU staff rep if you need help sorting things out. The services we provide to you are included in your union dues, and there is no additional charge for assisting you.
Our path to reconciliation includes listening, learning, and creating opportunities for education and participation within GSU. On the last Tuesday of each month we will be sharing information that we hope will contribute to a shared future of reconciliation.
TMM – Oct. 26, 2021
To kickstart the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour’s 65th Annual Convention, the Saskatchewan vice-president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Dodie Ferguson, hosted a workshop called “Making Land Acknowledgements Matter”. It was an impressive workshop that helped all participants better understand land acknowledgements, their history, and their importance.
If you have never participated in a land acknowledgement, they are formal statements made at the beginning of events taking place on land originally inhabited by or belonging to indigenous peoples. For example, a common one-breath land acknowledgement could be something like:
“As we gather here today, we acknowledge we are on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respect to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another.”
Land acknowledgements are meant to recognize and respect indigenous peoples as the original stewards of the lands on which we now live. These acknowledgements are not meant to place blame or make anyone feel guilty.
Though the statement is short, it serves an important purpose: it is a recognition of an intimate relationship between the place and people, and demonstrates an awareness of Canada’s history with and treatment towards Indigenous people. What we learned growing up or in school might contradict what is being taught today. As we uncover new information and learn more about an issue, the issue evolves. The challenging part is evolving with it.
Learn more about land acknowledgements here:
GSU is building a truth and reconciliation lending library. If you have resources you would recommend for our library or are interested in borrowing a book, contact staff rep Mason Van Luven at Mason@gsu.ca.
What is more important: How you see someone or respecting how they see themselves?
The third Wednesday of October is International Pronoun Day, and it’s an opportunity to consider how we use personal pronouns.
A personal pronoun refers to a person. Other than our names, personal pronouns are one of the main ways we identify and address people. The personal pronouns we often hear are she, her, hers, he, him, and his. It’s 2021, and in order to be a more inclusive society, they way we use personal pronouns is changing.
The way people look on the outside isn’t necessarily how they identify on the inside. And just like it’s hurtful to be repeatedly called by the wrong name or a nickname you don’t like or appreciate, it’s hurtful to be called by the wrong pronouns.
It may make you feel uncomfortable or awkward to address people with the pronouns they use, and that’s okay. For many people this is a new conversation and that can make us feel uneasy. Let’s listen, learn, and work toward an environment where everyone feels safe and included.
Congratulations to Local 15 (Nutrien) member Lynn Shaw who won last week’s draw for two Rider tickets.
The Riders’ didn’t pull off a win, but at least the game was entertaining to watch.
The Sept. 24, 2021 meeting of GSU’s Joint Executive Council (JEC) unanimously approved the hiring of Brian Lark into the position of staff representative working out of the Saskatoon office.
Brian became a member of GSU in 2005 when he joined the country operations workforce of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. His career continued with Viterra where he has held a series of increasingly responsible positions. Most recently, Brian was the terminal operations manager at Viterra’s facility in Raymore. Prior to taking his first terminal operations manager position with Viterra, Brian was active in GSU and served as a Local 1 (Viterra) delegate for a number of years.
In a move to further bolster GSU’s team, the Sept. 24 meeting of the JEC also unanimously approved the hiring of Mason Van Luven into a term staff representative position based in Regina for 18 months.
Mason is a graduate of the University of Regina with a Bachelor of Arts (honours) degree in political science. He has an impressive resume, including work for community non-governmental organizations and international aid organizations.
“We are very happy with the choice of Brian Lark to fill the vacancy in GSU’s Saskatoon office and we look forward to working with him in serving members of the union,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “We are also very happy to welcome Mason to the GSU team and look forward to working with him in serving members of the union.”
Lark and Van Luven will begin their duties with GSU on October 12 and are looking forward to their roles with GSU.
As often and as safely as possible, we will to return to in-person annual meetings and use Zoom and other online meeting platforms when in-person attendance is not desirable. The current surge in COVID cases in Saskatchewan will inevitably throw curves at our plans, but we will adapt.
Annual Local meetings are an excellent opportunity for GSU members to raise issues that require attention and to have a say on the administration of their union and to vote matters – such as continuation of dues being paid into the GSU Defense Fund, election of officers, and amendments to the union’s bylaws and constitution.
“We do our best to make GSU meetings as user friendly as possible and we focus on completing meetings in a timely fashion”, said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “I hope everyone is able to attend and reconnect after the long interruption of the COVID pandemic.”