ASPA Advocate
Welcome to the online home of ASPA at the University of Saskatchewan
U of S support workers’ union rallies to ‘send a message’ before new contract talks
Hundreds of union members cheered, chanted and blew into plastic noisemakers outside the University of Saskatchewan’s main administration building, a gesture of support amid an ongoing pension dispute between the university and its support workers.
While the noon-hour rally was intended to “send a message” to the university’s board of governors, who are meeting this week, the main recipient of that message — U of S President Peter Stoicheff — left the building moments before the event began. READ MORE
Call for nominations – ASPA Executive
Effective April of 2019, six (6) ASPA Executive positions will need to be filled. We are now actively seeking ASPA members who want to join the ASPA Executive.
Would you like to meet new people and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes on campus beyond your own department/unit? Would you like to learn a new skill set, and expand your professional networks? Would you like to make a difference and give back something to the university community? If yes, why don’t you consider joining the ASPA Executive? Read More
Rally in the Bowl, Tuesday March 19, 2019
RALLY IN SOLIDARITY WITH CUPE 1975
March 19, 12:00 noon
“The Bowl” University of Saskatchewan
Workers at the University of Saskatchewan deserve a fair pension plan, and a reasonable wage increase. Joint us for a rally during the next Board of Governors meeting to send a strong message to the administration: Paws off of our Pension!
ASPA Member Highlight – Rick Kroener, Departmental Assistant/Dental Technician, College of Dentistry
Written by Karen E. Mosier
Rick is a Master Dental Technician from Germany with over 36 years of experience in the field. He has worked on campus for the College of Dentistry for the past 2 years after having worked with a private lab in the Dental College building since 2011. His position was uniquely created to meet the needs of dentistry students and provide hands-on instructions as well as theoretical training in laboratory proc
edures. Rick’s duties include instructing Year 1 and 2 dental students in laboratory procedures and dental Anatomy; working with the Year 3 and 4 students on the clinical floor working with patients (involving any procedures outside the mouth e.g., dentures; crowns; bridges and more); managing the labs, including ordering materials/supplies/equipment and attending to any and all equipment and tools maintenance and over all safety; fabricating teaching materials for pre-clinical procedures (e.g., stone models; large size teeth, jigs, molds …); creating power points and videos for lectures and to post on Blackboard; and performing lab work for patients in urgent situations or difficult circumstances.
ASPA Tuition Reimbursement Fund application now available
The application form for the 2018-2019 ASPA Tuition Reimbursement Fund is now available online at: paws.usask.ca/go/awards. Students can apply online through their PAWS account as follows:
1) Log into the Scholarships and Bursaries channel in PAWS (paws.usask.ca/go/awards)
2) Click on the green “Apply for awards” button
3) Click on the “Select Application Form” scroll-down menu under “Current Students”
4) Select the “2018-2019 ASPA Tuition Reimbursement Fund Application”; click “Apply”
The Tuition Reimbursement Fund is available for members’ immediate family (spouses, partner, and children).
U of S employee pension plan debate heats up, strike possible in April
· CBC News ·
There may not be a strike at the University of Saskatchewan in the next week or so, but CUPE Local 1975 leadership says it could be on the horizon.
The union, which represents approximately approximately 1950 non-academic employees who work in facility or operational services, said Tuesday that outstanding issues include employee wages and their pension plan. READ MORE
How to be a Better Colleague
By Karen E. Mosier – 
Have you ever thought about what your colleagues might say about you if you left and took a different position or retired? Would they say that you were the nicest and most patient person that they ever worked with or would they say that they wished that they had never met you?
Several ways that you can be a better co-worker include: Read More
Mediator sought in faculty contract talks with University of Regina
The Canadian Press: updated February 6, 2019
The Saskatchewan government has been asked by the University of Regina Faculty Association to appoint a mediator to help reach an agreement in its lengthy contract talks with the university.
The association is the certified bargaining agent for 1,400 full- and part-time employees.
Their last collective bargaining agreement with the U of R expired in June 2017.
Negotiations on a new deal began in April of last year. READ MORE
Social Media Survey Results
Written by John Costa on behalf of the Research Committee
Last January, ASPA members responded to ASPA’s 1 Minute survey on social media. Over 320 ASPA members participated with the vast majority of reporting overwhelming support for the current method of communication – email (96.8%) and website (57%) with Facebook coming in a distant third with 18.50% support.
When asked which social media tools respondents use, Facebook and LinkedIn were ranked among the most visited platforms with YouTube coming a close third. Reddit was the most cited social media site not listed (Website, E-mail, Texting, Hard Copy Newsletter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn). Read More
Canadian workers have a fundamental right to strike, top court rules
The Supreme Court of Canada has declared the right to strike to be fundamental and protected by the Constitution, thus handing organized labour its second stunning victory this month.
The 5-2 ruling has wide implications across Canada for governments that limit the right of public-sector workers and others to strike.
Following a ruling that said Mounties and other Canadian workers have the right to unionize to protect their interests, the court has revolutionized Canadian labour law.
Saskatchewan had warned the court that the right to strike would be a change of “seismic proportions,” and several provinces had intervened to argue against that right, in support of laws that limit the right of public workers deemed essential to walk off the job. READ MORE
