July 29, 2021
Calendar highlights and upcoming events:
Local 2 (Viterra Head Office) summer contests

GSU Local 2 executive members Howard Wilson, Sheila Tran and Kaylee Kruger are putting a little extra fun into summer with some great contest giveaways, food trucks, Rider tickets and more. If you are a Local 2 member, watch your email or check-in with your executive to learn more.

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Last chance to apply to become a GSU Defense Fund director

Would you like to be a director on GSU's Defense Fund? Let us know you are interested by July 30, 2021. You can learn more about the requirements and expectations of the position here.

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EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY
Sask. Federation of Labour virtual OH&S conference - Sept. 15 & 16

GSU will sponsor up to three GSU members to attend this popular conference. We'll help you with getting time off from work and GSU will reimburse you for lost wages. If you are a GSU member in good standing and you have a good internet connection, you are eligible attend.

Check out the conference workshops and contact GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson at Steve@gsu.ca if you are interested in attending. You can read or print the conference brochure here.

GSU Local 14 (Richardson Pioneer) members urged to complete upcoming bargaining survey
Members of GSU Local 14 (Richardson Pioneer) will soon be receiving a GSU bargaining survey intended to help focus efforts on negotiating a new collective agreement with their employer this coming autumn.
 
“Regardless of whether people have one or a number of issues they’d like to see addressed at the bargaining table, completing the Local 14 bargaining survey is the first step in the process of securing a new and improved collective agreement with Richardson,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “Perhaps a wage increase and inflation are top of mind issues for people as the Bank of Canada is predicting an annual increase of 3 percent in the consumer price index. Whatever the priorities might be, we’d like to know the top-of-mind issues when a series of bargaining proposals is assembled.”
 
“The ideas and priorities identified by union members form the basis of the material we take to the bargaining table, “ Wagner said. “Delegates from the locations will meet in early September to put together a bargaining platform and elect a committee to meet with Company management. The first thing we need is the input of union members.”

If you are a Local 14 member, watch your email for your copy of the survey. If you don't receive your copy, contact us at gsu@gsu.ca.

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GSU contacts employers regarding National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
 
GSU has written to all of the employers of members of the union to ascertain whether they intend to adopt Sept. 30 as a statutory holiday to be known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. So far three federally regulated employers have confirmed that they will be honouring the new statutory holiday and applying it to their employees. Two provincially regulated employers have advised that they will not be adopting the new statutory holiday and several others have said they are studying the matter.
 
“In Canada we have a mix of federally and provincially regulated employers and sectors. It would be nice to have a single progressive set of labour standards, but such is the nature of Canada,” Wagner said. “We’ll keep pushing.”

Wagner urges province to adopt the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
 
In a meeting of the advisory committee to the Saskatchewan Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner urged the province to follow the lead of the federal government and adopt Sept. 30 as a statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
 
“I think such a day and the time for conversation and reflection with our Indigenous sisters and brothers is long overdue, so I urged the Minister to impress upon his colleagues the importance of taking clear steps to begin the work we all have to do,” said Wagner. “A commemorative day is a small, but important step.”



If you need some advice about how to approach management with a problem, don't hesitate to call your GSU staff rep. No problem is too small and sometimes a brief comment, email, or meeting is all that's needed to address a situation. Call us when you think there is a problem to be fixed.


Cultivate your mental toughness
Olympic athletes excel at their chosen sports, but performing at such a high level isn't simply a matter of being gifted with amazing natural abilities. Mental resolve and toughness are major contributors to an athlete's ability to reach their peak conditioning and performance. It takes a laser mental focus on training, self-belief, and drive to block out distractions and overcome physical exhaustion to outdo and outlast competitors.

The benefits of mental toughness extends beyond athletes to those of us who are anything but. Mental toughness can help you power through that daunting project or address physical and emotional challenges - like controlling your emotions so you don't fly off the handle when things don't go your way.

The good news is you don't need to be born with mental toughness. It can also be cultivated.

Learn more 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.