ASPA Advocate
Welcome to the online home of ASPA at the University of Saskatchewan
The wild woman of the Winnipeg strike
Written by Darren Bernhardt, May 30, 2019, CBC News
On a hot summer afternoon in Winnipeg’s Market Square in 1917, a crowd of 2,000 listened to labour activists urge them to resist conscription and burn their military registration cards.
An enraged mob of 1,000 soldiers shoved through the crowd to get to the speakers.
Some of the activists fled. Others — including Helen Armstrong — stayed and fought back. READ MORE
Bargaining Update
ASPA’s Bargaining team met on June 11 for a third day-long meeting. The team made 
great progress in reviewing the collective agreement and I am happy to report that we have combed through the entire agreement. In our assessment, we discussed some of the challenges that we have had with interpreting the collective agreement over the last few years to see if we can come up with any means of addressing these points. Read More
President’s Message
Hello fellow ASPA members! My name is Curtis Larson and the ASPA executive at the May 2019 executive meeting selected me to be president for 2019-20. I am both honoured
and humbled to be able to serve you for a second time in the role of President. For those of you that have been here a long time you may recall I was previously on the ASPA executive from 2001 to 2004 and served as President in 2002-03. Much has changed since that time, not least of which the ASPA membership has grown from under 500 members to almost 1400 members today, which probably means the workload will be a little heavier and the issues more complex than last time, but being able to hopefully make a positive difference, no matter how small, in the working lives of our members is one of the most satisfying and rewarding things I have done in my career. I am looking forward to working with our new executive and our members as we go into a very busy year. Joanie Crandall and LaVina Watts are your vice presidents and I will be looking to them for guidance and support as they have built a great foundation for ASPA over the past several years and I want to thank Joanie for her service as president in 2018-19. If you ever have any questions about ASPA, your rights in the workplace, or just want to have a discussion about an idea you have about how ASPA can make a positive difference in our members work life please don’t hesitate to contact the ASPA office or myself. Read More
What the Winnipeg General Strike teaches every working person
Written by Hassan Yussuff, as published in the Winnipeg Free Press and in the Toronto Star, May 15, 2019
The year 1919 was fraught with discontent.
Workers in Canada were struggling to make ends meet and inflation had risen by 65% over a six-year span. Men who had just returned from a horrific war in Europe could not find employment; factories were shutting down and bankruptcies were a common occurrence. Tens of thousands of people in Winnipeg alone lived in substandard housing where disease was a deadly reality. Working-class immigrants faced deep divisions along ethnic, linguistic, and religious lines. READ MORE
ASPA Member Awards
Written by Karen E. Mosier
We are pleased to announce that LaVina Watts, Interdisciplinary Programs and Study 
Abroad Coordinator, Office of the Vice-Dean Academic, College of Arts and Science was one of the co-winners of the College of Arts and Science’s 2019 Dean’s Distinguished Staff Award. The winners were announced at the Faculty Council on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. The Dean’s Distinguished Staff Award recognizes employees of the College of Arts and Science who have set themselves apart through excellence in work performance and quality of service. Along with a certificate, they receive a $1,000 prize.
Among the 2019 College of Arts and Science Dean’s Distinguished Staff Award nominees, we would also like to acknowledge the following ASPA members:
- Sandy Bonny: Coordinator, Indigenous Student Achievement Pathways
- Tara Hackl: Executive assistant, Office of the Vice-Dean RSAW / Office of the Vice-Dean Faculty Relations
- Victoria Harms: Science outreach coordinator, Science Outreach Office
- Tracene Harvey: Director, Museum of Antiquities
- Peter Krebs: College secretary, College Office
- Bonita Wong: Finance and operations manager, Department of Chemistry
Congratulations to our ASPA members for their outstanding contributions to the College of Arts and Science and the university community.
ASPA Annual General Meeting Summary
Written by Yolanda Palmer-Clarke
The annual general meeting for the Administrative and Supervisory Personnel Association (ASPA) was held April 30, 2019 in ARTS 241 with 184 members in attendance. Members voted to fill vacant positions on the executive from a list of nominated personnel. There were eleven (11) nominees volunteering for six (6) positions on the executive. This is the largest number of nominees to date and ASPA thanks each nominee for their willingness to volunteer. The new executive for the year 2019-2020 were introduced to the membership at the close of the meeting: Curt Larson (President), Joanie Crandall (VP), LaVina Watts (VP), Garett Federko (Treasurer), Calvert ChiefCalf, Colleen Cochran, John Costa, Dawn Giesbrecht, Peter Krebs, Andrea Smida, Henry Tan, and Dan Zhao. One retiring member took the opportunity to encourage members to take advantage of the benefits offered through ASPA. As social with food and drinks at Louis’ Loft follwed the general meeting. It was a success with over 100 members attending for conversation and networking.
ASPA Member Highlight – Karen E. Mosier, Research Coordinator/Navigator (Department of Surgery/College of Medicine)
Written by Yolanda Palmer-Clarke
Karen E. Mosier started working at the University of Saskatchewan in August 2005. Currently she is the Research Coordinator/ Navigator in the Department of Surgery. This proud alumna boasts a BA in Psychology and a MSc in Pharmacy both of which she 
achieved at the University of Saskatchewan. She fell in love with the warm and nurturing environment of the university, which inspired her to take a job on campus after completing her studies.
In her current position, Karen is responsible for mentoring faculty and residents on research processes and procedures and promoting a dynamic research culture within the department. Her duties include reviewing grant applications, sourcing funding opportunities for faculty, writing the annual department research report, collecting research metrics, maintaining the department research intranet, organizing faculty & resident research days and resident information session lunches, facilitating networking lunches, coordinating faculty and resident research awards, organizing monthly research committee meetings and overseeing the research budget. Read More
Everyday Leadership
Written by Karen E. Mosier
Drew Dudley defines every day leadership as “the everyday act of improving each others lives”.
Employees that demonstrate every day leadership:
- Quickly adapt to changing situations
- Think outside the box and learn to embrace new ideas and concepts
- Understand that challenges are all part of personal growth and development process
- Show up and follow through on commitments
- Are willing to get their hands dirty and do whatever it takes to get the job done
- Coach others instead of simply telling them what to do
- Tailor how they motivate others based on individual moods and personality types
- Help team members to make some progress – everyday
- Provide continuous feedback
- Role-model desired behaviors
- Give quiet words of praise not just the once a quarter “pep” talk
- Are there to give the pick me up to others when things don’t quite work out
Once we see that leadership is something that we can do every day and that we can expect it from ourselves and others, only then will we see the true value of everyday leadership. Then we can start to purposely look for ways in the workplace to be an everyday leader and feel good about it and give ourselves credit for demonstrating leadership.
References
Dudley Drew. Everyday Leadership. You Tube. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=everyday+leadership&view=detail&mid=B118861DDBBE22AA44CCB118861DDBBE22AA44CC&FORM=VIRE
Kelah Raymond. Insperity. 5 Essential Traits of Effective Everyday Leadership https://www.insperity.com/blog/everyday-leadership/
Dr. Ken Hudson. Small Wins Innovation. http://smallwinsinnovation.com/the-power-of-everyday-leadership/
State of the Unions: Century after Winnipeg General Strike, labour movement ‘trying to stay afloat’
Written by Scott Billeck – Winnipeg SUN, April 30, 2019
While it’s the season to celebrate labour and the far-reaching impact the Winnipeg General Strike had on labour movements, those bullish on the current state of unions 100 years on seam to be few and far between.
Unionized workers across the country represent just 30% of the workforce, and while polls suggest people are in favour of having the benefits union bring, governments appear to be pushing back against organizations vested in trying to protect the legal rights of employees. READ MORE
