The celebration of May Day occurs annually to recognize the very positive social and economic outcomes of the labour movement. These include things we often take for granted, such as: the 8 hour workday, the 2 day weekend, end of child labour, guaranteed minimum wages and paid holidays.

The Joint Merit Committee (JMC), comprised of representatives from the Administrative and Supervisory Personnel Association (ASPA) and the University of Saskatchewan Human Resources (HR), is pleased to announce the completion of our work. Attached are three documents:

A new round of collective bargaining is set to begin on Monday, April 14th, 2008. ASPA and the University will meet for three days.

This year, ASPA's Bargaining Team includes: Gisele Piche, Keith McIlmoyl, Larry Riopka, Ruth Thompson, David Bocking, Paola Chiste and Jim Coller. Jim is a professional negotiator who has been retained by ASPA to serve as Co-Chief Negotiator during this round of bargaining. Jim comes to us with a wealth of experience representing and bargaining for Lodge 140 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

ASPA is pleased to announce the launch of the ASPA Tuition Reimbursement Fund. Please review the following two documents for further information.

Terms of Reference and Guidelines
Application for ASPA Tuition Reimbursement

At its most recent meeting, the ASPA Executive took a unanimous decision to send ASPA President-Elect Trent Kolbe to attend a conference in Toronto entitled "Reinventing Union-Management Relationships". The conference aims to provide attendees with insights into existing productive relationships between employers and their unions so that practical, proven approaches can be used in their own settings.

On February 28, ASPA was pleased to host a celebration to kick-off our 30th Anniversary. The event was a great success, with a large turnout and a very positive, celebratory atmosphere. Members had a chance to visit while enjoying the great food and drink.

ASPA extends our thanks to the Campus Computer Store and the University Bookstore for their gracious donation of six fabulous door prizes which were drawn for and won by ASPA members. ASPA also wishes to thank the Hospitality staff in Marquis Hall for the fantastic food and service we all enjoyed.

ASPA's survey of members' views has been completed. The survey was conducted using the ASPA web site (http://www.aspasask.ca/) over a two-week period concluding on January 31, 2008. Each member was provided with an invitation to participate in the questionnaire which contained a unique randomized one-time key to use to complete the questionnaire.

MEMORANDUM
TO: All ASPA Members, Senior Administration, Deans, Department Heads, and Exempt Staff

FROM: Joint Merit Committee (JMC)

DATE: January 11, 2008

SUBJECT: Progress on the work of the JMC (ASPA)

Though ASPA intends to improve this area of the website in the near future, previous issues of the ASPA newsletter, ASPAragus, can still be accessed here.

Due to the busy and uncertain environment in which we find ourselves in the wake of the CUPE strike, ASPA has decided to postpone the annual December Social. Although we are very pleased to welcome our CUPE colleagues back to work this week, it does not seem a particularly appropriate time for a celebration.

ASPA looks forward to scheduling an Anniversary Kick-Off Social early in the new year, and will announce details sometime in January. We hope to see all ASPA members there to join us in celebrating the start of ASPA's 30th year!