Category Archives: Life at work

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.

Do you have a Health Flex Spending Account credit carried over from 2015 into 2016?

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Several GSU agreements contain Health Flex Spending account directives, and December 31 is a common cut-off for using funds from the previous calendar year.

If you have a Health Flex Spending Account credit carried over from 2015 into 2016, be sure you use it up by December 31 as it won’t be carried over into 2017.

If you need help determining if you have a Health Flex Spending Account in your collective agreement, contact your GSU staff rep.

Are you getting the most from your performance evaluation?

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Many GSU members have already participated or are getting ready for their year-end performance evaluation.

Make sure you are giving your employer all the necessary information they should have from you.

Take the time to fill out the comments section of your self evaluation. This is your opportunity to present your case and provide a basis for what is discussed during your review. Don’t be shy! List the things you have done, what you have accomplished, and how you have gone above and beyond for your employer.

Be specific.

For example, if you work in a grain elevator,

  • Did you load railcars to specifications?
  • Did you load to collect an incentive for your employer or avoid a penalty?
  • Did you pitch in and help get the project done time?
  • How many weekends or other days of rest did you work?
  • Was there a customer that you made incredibly happy?

Write it down in your comments, and keep extra examples with you when you sit down for your review.

Not sure what to include in your comments?

GSU vice-president Jim Brown offers this hint.

“Talk wi th your co-workers about filling in your comments and create a discussion in the workplace. Don’t be shy about asking them what they did and what they will be writing down,” Brown said. “A group discussion may help you recall some of your other contributions and achievements in the past year, and you may find your co-workers can remind you about times you went the extra mile and vice-versa.”