ASPA News

Happy New Year to all of you and I hope you were able to have some down time over the break and recharge as we head into another year!

In January our treasurer Garett Federko was successful in obtaining another position on campus but unfortunately it is an exempt position so he has had to step down from the executive. We will miss Garett’s expertise with our finances and his insight into all the items we discussed as an executive as he brought a valuable point of view to ASPA. I want to thank Garett for all of his work with us and wish him the best in his new position! Continue reading

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Kelly Gatzke studied 2 ½ years at the University of Regina in from 1988 to 1990. His summer employment created a career change to complete his Journeyman Electrician Certification in 1996. He attained his Construction Specifications Canada CCCA (Certified Construction Contract Administrator) in early 2015.

He has been an ASPA member since August 16, 2016. While employed at the University of Saskatchewan, he completed his PMP (Project Manager Professional) designation in early 2018. He is currently taking night classes and will be finishing his Certificate in Business in April 2020.

Kelly and his team work collaboratively to successfully deliver projects by managing scope, risk, costs, schedule, and add value to the campus through their collective abilities. As a project manager, Kelly is accountable to ensure that everyone on the team knows and executes their role, feels empowered and supported in their role. Communication is a critical part of his role as a Project Manager. They work to gather client requirements and business needs for all projects. Delivering what the client needs while maintaining the vision for the whole campus is their primary objective. Continue reading

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Have you ever noticed that some people always seem to get ahead? No matter how difficult the situation at work, they always seem to wade their way through it. Perseverance involves going forward despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Having clear goals in mind and working towards them is the secret of success to keep abreast of your workload and meet your career goals. Continue reading

The time of year has come again where we figure out how to allot our Flexible Spending Account. This year there have been some changes to what you may use your Personal Spending Account for as of January 1, 2020.

Here is a list of new items your PSA qualifies for: Continue reading

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Have you ever noticed that there are always certain people in your office that you can count on to follow through and get things done? Accountability in the workplace is all about taking ownership of your work by taking responsibility for the results and doing the right thing. It isn’t about assuming that it is someone else’s responsibility or about passing the buck.

Here are some strategies to improve employee accountability in the workplace:   Continue reading

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Helanna Gessner has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Archaeology & Classical Medieval & Renaissance studies from the University of Saskatchewan completed in 2016 and a Masters in Museum Studies through the University of Leicester in 2018. She recently started working on campus in May of 2019 at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre as an Administrative Coordinator.  

Helanna’s duties are to provide support between the Curator and the Program Manager, and to liaison with the Executive Officer, who does all the planning for the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. She also does bookings for programs and develops events for the Centre. The Diefenbaker Canada Centre provides educational programs to schools in and around Saskatoon in alignment with the curriculum (e.g., Social Studies) for students from kindergarten to Grade 6. In addition, campus tours and gallery tours are available to the public. Helanna is also responsible to train, mentor, and oversee the duties of the student staff at the Centre. Continue reading

ASPA Bargaining Update

Your ASPA bargaining team met with the employer on November 21 and 22, 2019. This is the second meeting we have had to date and we will be meeting with the employer again on December 19 and 20, 2019. We are still in the early stages of bargaining but it is clear after the first two meetings that we have a lot of work ahead of us before reaching a new collective agreement. Continue reading

On November 13, 2019, the employer communicated to ASPA members, in Finance and Resources, that they were offering a Vacation Purchase Program (VPP) and a Partial Leave Initiative (PLI) as a pilot project to all staff within this portfolio. We felt it was important for ASPA members to know that the Employer did not speak to ASPA in any detail… Continue reading

Written by Darcy Hryn-Bird, ASPA Member Services Our Member Services Officer, Darcy Hryn-Bird, is currently handling twenty-one (21) active grievances.  Unsure  what a grievance is or how to file one?  For more information go here. Most of the outstanding grievances are related to the employer failing to deduct Association dues from several positions across campus.  ASPA has been raising this… Continue reading

Dear ASPA Members,

I have several updates for you since my last message. I am happy to report that we have scheduled several days to meet with the employer’s bargaining team before the spring break. In fact, our team met for the first time with the employer’s team on October 31^st. Continue reading