It is with regret that ASPA acknowledges receipt of a letter of resignation from ASPA President Trent Kolbe. ASPA wishes to extend its sincere gratitude to Mr. Kolbe for his service and commitment to our members.

As per ASPA's Constitution, President-Elect Kim Baryluk is now President, effective immediately. Mr. Baryluk will continue on as President through the 2009-2010 term, as elected.

The Unfair Labour Practice filed by ASPA against the University is now available for viewing.

Unfair Labour Practice Filing (PDF)

ASPA's new contract with the University is now ratified, both by ASPA members through the vote held last Thursday, and by the University's Board of Governors the following day. Next steps to conclude the agreement center around the drafting of the entire new Collective Agreement which incorporates changes to language and organization as agreed at the bargaining table. This will be done jointly by the respective bargaining teams who will then formally sign the completed Collective Agreement. The full Agreement will then be made publicly available.

Arrangements to carry through with payment of the signing bonus, retroactive-pay, and new salaries will be made in due course, and will be communicated when they are known.

Announcing the results of the vote taken by ASPA members today, December 11.

Are you in favour of the University's Offer To Settle?

Total Votes Cast: 690
Yes - 51.6%
No - 48.4%

Further information to follow.

As follow-up to the Joint Communication from December 1, 2008, regarding ASPA Bargaining, the location and times for the Thursday, December 11 general membership meetings and vote will be as follows:

Location: Biology 106

Times: 10:00 - 11:30 AM or
3:00 - 4:30 PM

Please note each meeting time will have the same format. The two different times are intended to accommodate varying work schedules.

There is no need to RSVP for these meetings.

To view the offer, please see the following links for further details:
ASPA: http://www.aspasask.ca
Human Resources: http://www.usask.ca/hrd/memos/bargaining_updates.php

On November 14th, 2008, members of ASPA received notice of the University’s intent to file an Unfair Labour Practice. ASPA’s response to the allegations can be found here.

10 Day Notice of an ASPA Membership Vote on a proposed Collective Agreement

On Tuesday, November 25, 2008, the ASPA Bargaining Team received a revised time-limited offer from the University (the Employer). The ASPA Bargaining Team promptly responded by asking the University's team to resume bargaining on November 27, 2008 to discuss the offer. At the conclusion of these discussions, the parties reached an agreement to present the offer to the ASPA membership for a vote. The University's Offer of November 25, 2008 will remain open pending the outcome of a membership vote.

The vote will be conducted as per the ASPA Constitution, Bylaws, and Policies, which requires a membership meeting, quorum in attendance, a motion to vote and a secret ballot vote:

ASPA's Bargaining Team extends its sincere thanks to all of the ASPA members who attended the information sessions last week. We very much appreciate your feed back and support.

For those who were unable to attend, we are posting a PDF of the handout provided at the meetings.

ASPA Bargaining Information - November 2008 (PDF)

In two reports last week, the Conference Board of Canada weighed in on economic prospects for both the Province of Saskatchewan and the City of Saskatoon. The first article compared the prospects for the province with those of other provinces and found that Saskatchewan will do remarkably well. Read the entire article here:

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/press/newsrelease/09-52.aspx

While global financial turmoil will bring some Canadian provinces to the brink of recession this year and into 2009, others, including Saskatchewan, will be much less affected, according to the Conference Board’s Provincial Outlook – Autumn 2008.

The Globe and Mail carried an article Saturday by market commentator Boyd Erman. Numerical analyses show that the present market is a "value investor's dream" because stock prices are now below the book value of the companies that issued them. Prices like these are lower, much lower, than were seen in recent market downturns and so represent fantastic opportunities for investors who have the discipline to "buy now and hold for the long term". Read the complete story here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081114.wtakingstock...