November 2, 2021
Calendar highlights and upcoming events:
GSU membership meetings are underway

We will be using Zoom for a majority of our membership meetings again this year. If you have a preferred date and time for your meeting, let us know.

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Local 8 (Advance) bargaining - Nov. 5

Bargaining continues on Friday for GSU Local 8's bargaining committee and their management counterparts. This is the second meeting for the two sides. GSU bargaining committee members are Doug Murray, Dion Elliott, Steve Holiday, Doug Kampman, GSU staff rep Mason Van Luven, and bargaining spokesperson Hugh Wagner.

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Elected officers are an important contact between
GSU members and their staff representatives
It's annual general meeting season at GSU and the staff are busy arranging membership meeting dates and times for each local and sub-local. Electing officers is an important element of each membership meeting.

The job of being a union officer isn't as big a commitment as it sounds.

The role of an elected officer is a willingness to be a contact between the union and the members in their workplace.

"Becoming an officer sounds like there will be yellow stripes and a big hat involved, and that tends to scare people away," said GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson. "It's an important role, but it doesn't actually involve a big time commitment. We count on union officers to share information about things like bargaining, upcoming meetings, or workplace issue updates with fellow union members and to refer any questions or concerns to the union."

If you would like to learn more about what is involved in becoming a union officer, contact GSU staff reps Steve Torgerson, Brian Lark or Mason Van Luven. Their contact information is available at gsu.ca.
Local 8 (Advance) bargaining resumes Nov. 5 in Regina
Agreement renewal bargaining between AEA/GSU Local 8 and Advance Manufacturing/Trailer Centres will resume Friday when union and employer representatives return to address the substance of bargaining issues.
 
The parties held their initial meeting on Oct. 20 when they exchanged bargaining proposals. The collective agreement with Advance expired on Oct. 31, 2021.
 
Local 8’s bargaining proposals are posted on GSU’s website. More reports will be released as bargaining proceeds.
Can I carry my unused vacation into the new calendar year?
Staff rep Steve Torgerson assisted a member who called the union office to clarify how much unused vacation could be carried over into 2022. Torgerson was able to confirm that in this member's situation, the collective agreement provided for unused vacation to be carried over for use in the new year.

"Collective agreements have their own rules and guidelines surrounding vacation carryover," Torgerson advises. "I'd recommend that members refer to the vacation clause in their collective agreement and contact Brian [Lark], Mason [Van Luven], or me at the GSU office if they have any questions or would like additional reassurance or clarification."

With only two months left in 2021, it's a good time to review your remaining vacation entitlement.

If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a GSU staff rep.
Remove the pressure of being perfect

Striving to be your best is admirable, but setting unrealistically high standards can cause you to overstress, procrastinate, and feel like an inadequate failure. Perfectionism can hold you back from presenting ideas, making decisions and participating in conversations, and that can harm your career and relationships.

Are you capable of loosening your grip on rigid adherence to high standards and allowing yourself to be less than perfect?

Learn more about the pressures of being perfect, here:


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.