Calendar highlights and upcoming events: |
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GSU scholarship application deadline – June 1
We have five $2,000 scholarship for five GSU members, their spouses and dependents. Detailed information on our scholarship program is available at gsu.ca.
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Prairie School for Union Women – June 13-16
This annual school will be held with virtual options and in-person workshops at the Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon.
GSU will sponsor up to three attendees on a first come, first served basis. Learn more below and contact your GSU staff rep to reserve your spot or learn more.
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SFL Summer Camp – August 5-11
This year's summer camp will be held at the Shekinah Retreat Centre near Waldheim. Young people between the ages of 13-16 who are children of union members are eligible to attend. GSU will sponsor up to three GSU campers on a first come, first served basis. Learn more below and contact your GSU staff rep to learn more.
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GSU staff rep Mason Van Luven assisted a member needing clarification why travel expenses to and from company-provided training were not expensed.
In the end, the member agreed after HR clarification when it was provided.
Our services are provided to you as part of your union dues and their is never an additional charge for assisting you. Contact information for GSU staff representatives is available on our web page at gsu.ca.
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AEA/GSU Local 8 serves notice of strike action on Advance Tank Production Ltd. / Advance Tank Centres Ltd. |
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Agreement renewal bargaining between AEA/GSU Local 8 and Advance Tank Production Ltd. /Advance Tank Centres Ltd. ground to a halt on April 25 when the AEA/GSU Local 8 bargaining committee rejected the employer’s so-called best and final wage increase offer of 3 percent effective May 1, 2022 (no retroactivity) and a further 3 percent effective May 1, 2023.
The AEA/GSU bargaining committee reiterated the union’s wage increase proposal of 4.5 percent effective Nov. 1, 2021 (fully retroactive to that date) and a further wage increase of 4.0 percent effective Nov. 1, 2022.
As authorized by a majority vote of AEA/GSU Local 8 members, the union executive committee has given company management notice of strike action by union members to take effect at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 28, 2022.
Unless otherwise informed by the AEA/GSU Local 8 executive committee, union members are asked cease work and to report for picket line duty at 7:00 a.m. on April 28, 2022.
The bargaining meeting on April 25 took place with the assistance of a provincial mediator. The Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety has been notified of the strike action.
Updates will be issued as matters unfold.
Updates from previous bargaining sessions are available here.
The AEA/Local 8 bargaining committee is comprised of Doug Murray (president), Steve Holliday (vice president), Dion Elliott (OH&S co-chair), Doug Kampman (secretary treasurer), Mason Van Luven (GSU staff rep) and Hugh Wagner, (union spokesperson and GSU general secretary).
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April 28 is the National Day of Mourning for workers injured or killed on the job. In acknowledgement of this important day, our April newsletters will be taking a look at violence in the workplace.
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By GSU staff rep Brian Lark |
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We expect to feel safe at work, but workplaces can be a site of aggression, tension, harassment, and even violence.
Acts of violence can be present in a wide variety of situations. They can be physical or psychological, and they can come as a direct interaction with the aggressor or indirectly as a bystander or observer.
Over the month of April , we will look at these four distinct types of situations regarding violence in the workplace and the harmful effects that they have on workplaces and employees.
Type 1: Criminal Intent
Type 2: Customer/Client
Type 3: Worker on Worker
Type 4: Personal Relationship.
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Week Four/Type 4: Personal Relationship |
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This type of violence enters the workplace when trouble at home or in away-from-work life follows employees to work - often when a partner comes into or calls the workplace to continue an argument that wasn’t finished.
Examples include:
- the disintegration of a relationship and the family of your ex-partner come into the workplace to confront you
- the fight you had with your sibling or parent at the weekend BBQ following you to work on Monday.
Some personal relationships become so violent that people go to work to seek refuge from the aggression and, when the aggressor follows, there is no longer a safe place. No matter the relationship or source, when a co-worker's personal relationships bring violence into the workplace it disrupts the workplace and creates an awkward and often dangerous environment for co-workers and customers if the personal violence becomes physical.
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If there is a possibility personal conflicts may follow you to work, let your manager and your co-workers know. |
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By alerting them to the situation they can help keep you safe, prevent access to you and be on guard to call the authorities if things get heated and start to escalate. When violence takes place in the work place it affects everyone in the workplace - including bystanders who could become victims of personal abuse and violence that could be a PTSD trigger. |
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We need to be aware of violence in our workplaces, how to spot it, how to diffuse it and how to report it. |
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You have a right to feel safe at work. No matter who the aggressor is, it is not okay for you to fall victim to violence, nor is it okay for you to watch violence occur. |
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If you have safety concerns in the workplace, report them. |
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If you don’t think your concerns are being heard, let your GSU staff representative know and they can help with reporting issues. Safety is a responsibility that is shared by us all and if we all work together, we can keep our workplaces a safe place to be.
Stay safe and watch out for each other.
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Don't hesitate to contact your GSU staff rep is you are struggling as a result of violence in the workplace. All calls and contact are strictly confidential. We will assist you in any way we can, but we will not contact your employer, file a grievance or act on your behalf without consultation, direction and approval from you. |
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Our path to reconciliation includes listening, learning, and creating opportunities for education and participation within GSU. Each month we will share a short piece of information that we hope will inspire you to learn more about the topic and ultimately contribute to a shared future of reconciliation. |
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The classic adage “time heals all wounds” is not true. Time is merely an opportunity to heal, but sometimes it is not enough. The memories, scars, and trauma can live on throughout one’s life to a point where it becomes part of who they are. And to say that time alone, that the further distanced you are from the initial event, is all the medicine you need, cannot be further from the truth.
For those who lived through the Residential School system, bearing in mind that the last school did not close until 1996, much of what they experienced lives on as intergenerational trauma; a phenomenon where the child of someone who experienced significant trauma internalizes their parent’s or care-giver’s behaviour as their own. Simply put, they begin to wear the trauma as though it is their own.
What makes healing from this trauma so difficult is that the effects of intergenerational trauma trigger the opposite approach to resolving it. It can create feelings of denial, minimization, and emotional imbalance, which allows for the trauma to persist into the next generation. Moreover, accessing the support of victims of intergenerational need further complicates this matter, as Indigenous and culturally-appropriate care is difficult to come by. The point being that simply saying “residential schools are closed” does not mean that what they did to people stopped as well. In fact, they live on to this day.
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There is so much more to learn!
GSU is building a truth and reconciliation lending library. If you have resources you would recommend for our library or are interested in borrowing a book, contact staff rep Mason Van Luven at [email protected].
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Local 4 (Grain Millers) bargain - April 26 |
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Bargaining will continue April 26 in Yorkton.
Members are encouraged to join Local 4's bargaining update group by sending their email or cell number to [email protected].
GSU's bargaining committee comprises Brandon Allin, Carter MacKay, Ryan McNabb, Glen Wlasichuk, Brian Lark (GSU staff) and Steve Torgerson (bargaining spokesperson and GSU staff).
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Local 6 (Wild West Steelhead) bargaining set for April 27, 28, 29
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The Local 6 agreement with their employer expired at the end of February.
GSU bargaining committee members are Dan Grenier, Connor Hartley, Logan Farwell, Paul Kennedy (alternate), Steve Torgerson (GSU staff) and Donna Driediger (GSU staff).
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You've got a headache and you feel dizzy. You ache everywhere, you're cranky, and your strength, reflexes and responses are nothing short of weak. Flu? Maybe not. You might be tired.
If you aren't getting a solid, quality, seven to eight hours of sleep each night, you need to change that. For additional ways to regain your energy, 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.
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