November 12,  2019 

Upcoming events:

GSU's annual membership meetings - autumn 2019
Meetings are underway. Watch your email for updates and contact your GSU staff rep if you need more information.

GSU biennial policy convention - March 19-21
Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa - Moose Jaw
We are counting on GSU members - like you - to come to convention*, share your thoughts and experiences, and let us know what you think your union should be doing for its members. Registration will be open, soon. Visit gsu.ca or contact your GSU staff rep for more information.

Contact your GSU staff rep if you are interested in attending or learning more about an event.

*GSU members who sign up and are approved to participate in GSU-sanctioned events will have their time off work, wages, and expenses covered in accordance with GSU's expense policies (child care included). GSU staff will also assist you with arranging the time off with your employer.


Harvest conditions lead to long hours
 
2019's terrible harvest conditions in western Canada have resulted in extended operating hours in many terminal elevators as grain dryers have been running around the clock.
 
The introduction of modified or variable hours of work schedules is covered in GSU's collective agreements with employers, including Nutrien, Richardson International and Viterra. The agreement provisions may be different in each instance, but all three collective agreements address the subject in section 2 of Article 18 - Hours of Work and Overtime.
 
What's happening at your workplace? 

Let us know.
 
GSU members who have concerns about long hours or changes to work schedules are urged to contact an elected officer or GSU staff rep. All inquiries are confidential.


GSU Helps sort things out. No problem is too small, and identifying problems as soon as they arise benefits everyone. These services are provided to you as part of your union dues. There is no additional charge for assisting you. 



There will be a prairie showdown in Regina this Sunday, and you could win tickets to watch it unfold.

One lucky GSU member will win two tickets for the Nov. 17 CFL western final to watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

To enter our draw, send us your answer the following question:

If you were on a cross-Canada fight and could have any celebrity sit next to you, who would it be?

Optional: Why?

Get your answers in to gsu@gsu.ca by Thursday, Nov. 14 at 9:00 a.m. to be entered in our draw.

Good luck!

Contest entry rules are available here.



GSU annual membership meetings continue

Have you received your annual general membership meeting notice? If you haven't, keep watching your email because you will be receiving it soon.

Learn more here about what to expect at your upcoming meeting. 

If there is a meeting date and time that works well for you and your co-workers, let your rep know. And if you have something specific you would like addressed at your meeting, tell your staff rep.

Contact your  GSU staff rep for more information.


A GSU Local 4 (Grain Millers) meeting update
Members opt to forgo holiday party in favour of supporting former co-worker, his family 

Delegates to each GSU annual meeting are given an opportunity to use their $50 Community Connection  donation to support a worthy individual, group, or cause of their choice. They are also asked to consider how to use their Local/Sub-Local's dues rebate for a team-building group event.

After a former co-worker lost his family home to fire last month, Local 4 (Grain Millers) decided to forgo a holiday party in favour of combining their  Community Connection and dues rebate into one cheque for presentation to their former co-worker and his family. Local 4 member Kent Worthington will be delivering their $1,500 cheque and well-wishes from the members.


Women work better when they are warm. Men? Not so much.

It's time for the annual co-worker battle for office thermostat control. If you are among the chronically cold, there is a new study that will warm the frozen  cockles of your heart.

Research on the effect of temperature on cognitive performance by gender found that when the office is warm, women perform better in math and verbal tasks, while the reverse effect was observed for their male co-workers. When looking at cognitive reflection tasks, researchers found temperature caused no measurable difference between the genders. 

Perhaps most interesting to those who want to increase the office temperature, the increase in female performance in response to higher temperature was significantly larger and more precisely estimated than the corresponding decrease in male performance.

What does this mean? It's time to turn up the thermostat because g ender-mixed workplaces may be able to increase productivity by keeping the temperature higher than current standards.

Need proof for your co-workers? Check out the study here.


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


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