June 7, 2016  
 
Calendar highlights for June 6 to 10: 
  • general secretary Hugh Wagner attended a Saskatchewan Federation of Labour meeting on Monday
  • staff rep Lawrence Maier assisted a GSU member with a workers' compensation appeal on Tuesday
  • Lawrence Maier will be meeting with a member on Wednesday
  • Hugh Wagner will meet with a GSU member on Friday
  • Local 15 (CPS) members are voting on their tentative settlement. Deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots at GSU's Regina office is this Friday, June 10.
GSU's calendar of events is regularly updated and available on GSU's web page - www.gsu.ca  

                                                
A GSU staff rep recently spoke to a member who was seeing a doctor for a Workers' Compensation related issue

The member wanted reassurance that they were able to attend the doctor's appointment alone and that company representatives did not have a right to attend the appointment. Our GSU rep confirmed that appointments at the doctor were private, privileged, and company representatives did not have a right to attend an employee's appointment.

Your employer does not have a right to attend your medical appointment or treatment with you - even if the injury was work-related.  

Clearly, if you are injured at work and it is not safe for you to go to the doctor by yourself, someone should ensure you receive medical treatment. However, having an employer representative take you for treatment does not provide that company or its representative(s) with any rights in terms of speaking to the doctor to receive your medical information. 

Just want advice? GSU can help. If you need advice or ideas about how to handle a workplace situation, call your GSU staff rep. GSU toll-free:  1.866.522.6686 (Regina) or 1.855.384.7314 (Saskatoon). Contacting GSU doesn't mean you are obligated to file a grievance and we won't contact your employer or act on your behalf without consultation, direction, and approval from you.
The 2016 Rider football season kicks off Saturday evening with a preseason game at Mosaic Stadium, and we have tickets to give away to two GSU members.

We are going to ease into this year's season, so if you are interested in winning two tickets to the June 11 game, we are going to make it super simple for you.

Send us your name and tell us where you work by 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 9 and we will enter you in our draw to win two tickets to this Saturday's game.

You can email us at gsu.regina@sasktel.net, or fax it to us at 306.565.3430. We will make the draw and notify our winners on Thursday morning.

Good luck!



 
GSU' s scholarship committee preparing to meet, choose this year's scholarship recipients 

The June 1 deadline for receipt of scholarship applications has passed, and GSU staff are preparing the applications for submission to the scholarship committee. 

In order to assist the scholarship committee in making their impartial decision, each eligible applicant's essay is photocopied and all identifying items - such as names and location references - are removed. The essays are then assigned an identifying number and copies are forwarded to each GSU scholarship committee member. 

Each committee member will have an opportunity to review applicant essays individually before meeting as a committee to discuss the essays and select scholarship recipients. When the scholarship recipients are chosen, the committee advises GSU staff of their decision and requests recipient names and contact information. Scholarship committee members personally notify recipients that they have been chosen and extend congratulations on behalf of the union and its members.

It is anticipated that the committee will announce this year's recipients in early July.

GSU's 2016 scholarship committee comprises GSU president Jim Brown (Local 1), and GSU's vice presidents Michelle Houlden (Local 5) and Brett North (Local 1).  
  
 

We have a web page dedicated to GSU bargaining. 
Check it out at  www.gsubargaining.ca .

 Bargaining updates and reports are also available on GSU's web page -  www.gsu.ca.

 

Hi-Pro Feeds
 
The Local 9 bargaining committee met management in Chilliwack on June 1 and 2. Management produced a three-year offer with 1.5% increase in each year. The only other movement was an agreement to improve Temporary Performance Of Higher Duty provisions along the lines proposed by the union committee. This was in response to members complaints about management playing fast and loose with the rules in the old agreement.
 
Management seems to have trouble accepting the union in Chilliwack. They refuse to bargain on improvements to language, wages, and benefits because "We don't do that in our non-union locations and everyone must be treated the same." The union response has been that we bargain for Chilliwack employees in GSU and until we represent workers in the current non-union facilities it's up to the non-union sites to deal with the provisions that are imposed in their workplaces.
 
GSU applied for conciliation in an attempt to break the stalemate, and today we received notice from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada that the Minister has appointed a conciliator under section 71 of the Canada Labour Code. Ms. Kathy M. Peters, Regional Director - Pacific Region of FMCS will contact the union and company soon to arrange dates to meet.
 
As provided for in the legislation, Ms. Peters appointment expires in 60 days unless extended by agreement of both parties. The 60 days expires on August 6, 2016.

GSU's Local 9 bargaining committee comprises Kelly Saretzky, Kev Clarke, and GSU staff rep Lawrence Maier.
 
  
Agrium/CPS 

On May 17 GSU mailed voting packages with detailed instructions and ballots directly to members at their homes.

The deadline for return of ballots to the GSU office is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 10, 2016.

A summary of the tentative bargaining settlement between GSU and Crop Production Services Canada covering Local 1 5 members was previously emailed to members on May 6. The bargaining summary report is available on the GSU web page at www.gsu.ca

GSU's Local 15 bargaining committee members are Carolyn Illerbrun (Shaunavon), Brian Cowan (Ag R&D Saskatoon/Watrous), Brent Pelechaty (Canora), Lynn Woods-Nordin (GSU assistant general secretary), and  Hugh Wagner (GSU general secretary) .
 
 
Discovery Co-op

Scheduled bargaining dates in June have been postponed and the two sides have agreed to meet July 25.

The most recent Local 17 bargaining session occurred April 19. Several outstanding issues remain. 
 
GSU's Local 17 bargaining committee members are  Shelbi Prescesky, Glen Morrison, and GSU staff rep Dale Markling. 
 
  
Lloydminster & District Co-operative Association 

A tentative settlement has been reached. Information and details on a ratification vote will be available to Local 18 members soon.
 
 
GSU's Local 18 bargaining committee members are Christina Jones, Les Strueby, and GSU staff rep Dale Markling


Prairie Co-op  

GSU's bargaining committee last met with the company's representatives on March 24. Dates for additional bargaining sessions are being determined.  

GSU's Local 19 bargaining committee members are Lindsay Hill (Strasbourg), Debbie Hillier (Cupar), and Steve Torgerson (GSU staff rep). 


Western Producer

Members of GSU Local 5 (Western Producer) are preparing for bargaining by getting together for supper and discussing bargaining proposals on Wednesday evening. 

The local's current collective agreement expires July 31, 2016. 


Questions or Concerns? Contact GSU staff rep Dale Markling. 
It's time to improve your concentration

Are plans for vacation, the end of the school year, and sunny summer skies driving you to distraction at work? When your motivation and ability to concentrate drops, the pile of work on your desk grows, and that isn't the ideal way to enter your summer vacation.

The ability to concentrate can take you from floating aimlessly between unfinished tasks to taking tasks on and powering through to completion.


This article has been printed for entertainment purposes. The views and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of GSU, its members, officers, or staff.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

This email and any attachment(s) are confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient please notify GSU, delete this email and do not copy, use or disclose it.