January 17 , 2017  

Calendar highlights for Jan. 16 to 20:
  • your GSU staff reps will be on the road visiting non-union CPS locations this week. Contact information for the GSU staff is available here. 
  • general secretary Hugh Wagner has a meeting with a union officer on Thursday
  • Hugh Wagner has scheduled a grievance meeting for Friday
  • the Tuesday Members' Memo is emailed to GSU members weekly on Tuesday. If you know a co-worker who hasn't received the TMM and would like to, they can call GSU toll-free 1.866.522.6686 or email at gsu.regina@sasktel.net. 
Upcoming events:

60th Annual SFL /CLC Spring School
April 3 to 7, 2017 ~ Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa, Moose Jaw, SK
Learn more about the school and read the course outline here.
Contact your GSU staff rep for more information or to register. 

GSU's calendar of events is regularly updated and available on GSU's web page - www.gsu.ca.  

EI waiting period lowered to one week
 
Effective January 1, 2017, the federal government lowered the waiting period for collecting employment insurance benefits from two weeks to one week.
 
"This is a welcome improvement, but it is a modest improvement," said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. "It is GSU policy to urge the federal government to make other improvements such as raising benefits to 75 percent of insured earnings and eliminating other barriers to collecting EI."


Majority approve continuing Defense Fund dues for 2017
 
The results are in and 82.5 percent of members who voted at GSU Local annual meetings in autumn 2016 approved continuing the additional dues of $10 per member per month being paid into the GSU Defense Fund for 2017. 

A review and vote on continuing the additional dues in 2018 will be conducted at GSU annual meetings this autumn.

What is the Defense Fund?

The Defense Fund is an important component of union members' resources. The primary purposes of the GSU Defense Fund is to ensure and provide for the continued operation of GSU and to provide strike/lockout pay to members of GSU in the event they strike or are locked out.

GSU members pay additional dues of 1 percent of regular pay to a maximum of $10 per member per month into the Fund. These additional dues will continue to be paid into the GSU Defense Fund until suspended by the Joint Executive Council or discontinued by a vote of the members of the union.

The GSU Defense Fund is required to maintain a minimum operating balance of $2.5 million. As of December 31, 2016 the market value of the Defense Fund assets was $3.9 million.

Learn more about the GSU Defense Fund here.


CPS Operations non-union employee vote

Stale-dated postage-paid return envelope for your ballot?SLRB says no problem - Canada Post is okay with it

Ballots have been mailed and non-union CPS Operations employees are voting on whether or not they will be represented by Grain and General Services Union. The deadline for the  Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board's (SLRB's) receipt of the ballots is Monday, January 30.

Shortly after the ballots hit the mail, GSU was contacted by employees with questions and concerns, including an observation by one employee that the  postage on the ballot's postage-paid return envelope was stale dated. GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner contacted SLRB representatives who advised that Canada Post accepted the practice of  metered postage dated one day following the date the balloting package was sent by Registered Mail. Accordingly, GSU shared this information with its non-union CPS Operations contact list and posted the information on GSU's web page. 

Additional information on the vote will be posted on GSU's web site ( www.gsu.ca) as it becomes available.

If you are a non-union CPS Operations employee with questions or concerns about the voting process, you can contact the  Labour Relations Board directly at  1.306.787.2406  or  1.306.787.7210, or you can contact a GSU representative  toll-free at  1.866.522.6686 or by  email at  gsu.regina@sasktel.net.
  
 

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

 

Discovery Co-op

In response to the Notice of Impasse which was served to the Minister of Labour Relations, Conciliator  Kevin Eckert has been appointed to assist the parties. 

Dates for conciliation are being considered. 

The Conciliator has a 60-day mandate which can only be extended by the agreement of both parties.

GSU's Local 17 bargaining committee members are  Shelbi Prescesky, Glen Morrison, and GSU staff rep Dale Markling.   

 
Western Producer

The new collective agreement is being prepared for signing and distribution to members.

The main terms of the settlement are salary increases of 1.25% Aug. 1, 2016; 1.5% Aug. 1, 2017; and 1.5% Aug. 1, 2018.

GSU's Local 20 bargaining committee members are Kim Quintin, Michelle Houlden, Laurie Michalycia, and Dale Markling (GSU staff rep). 


CHS Canada
 
The union and company have agreed on a tentative settlement and are continuing to work on final wording for the agreement document. 

Questions or Concerns? Contact GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson. 


Share appreciation, not apologies

Canadians are always willing to throw out a quick I'm sorry for any reason or even no reason at all. After all, being polite and courteous is the Canadian way.

While saying you are sorry is generally good for positive interactions, it can also have negative connotations. 

So what would happen if we replaced I'm sorry with thank you? A Tumblr user suggests that you can turn a negative situation into a positive b y offering thanks instead of an apology. 

It's easy to see how the dynamics change when you consider the example of being late for lunch with a friend and choosing the positive approach saying "Thank you so much for waiting for me" instead of the negative conversation opener "Sorry I am late." 

For more suggestions on why you should switch your apologies for thanks, check out this link:  What happened when I stopped saying sorry for a week.

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.

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