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Gratitude: International Women’s Day 2018
Thursday, March 15th, 2018
March 8th proved to be a powerful day! We had a chance to celebrate International Women’s Day, one of countless groups doing so worldwide.
Thank you to the many AESES members, university faculty and students who stopped by our campus AESES booths and participated in the educational trivia game we were running. Collectively we raised $240, which was donated to Willow Place, a group doing some wonderful work with women and children in distress in our city.
Upon receipt, they shared this message with us, which we wanted to share with you:
Dear Members of AESES, On behalf of Willow Place I would like to thank you for your generous donation to the shelter in recognition of International Women’s Day. As you can imagine, the group monetary donation that you have made will be extremely useful to us. Donations like yours serve a vital purpose and help us to provide improved care and services to the women and children who come through our doors. We appreciate your donation and feel fortunate that you thought of us. Part of what we strive to do at Willow Place is to let women and children who come to us from situations of domestic violence know that they are cared for and supported by their community. I would like to thank you for expressing an interest and compassion for the work that we do. It is genuine thoughtfulness such as this that reinforces that powerfully healing notion. Thank you. Sincerely, Marcie Wood Community Coordinator
Trivia Time: Celebrating International Women’s Day
Monday, February 26th, 2018
- UM Bannatyne – Brodie Atrium
- UM Fort Garry – 2nd Floor, University Ctr
- UW – 2nd Floor, Centennial Hall (by escalators)
While there, test your knowledge by taking a minute to answer three skill-testing questions as part of this fun event. For each member who participates in the International Women’s Day trivia game, AESES will donate $1 to a local women’s shelter (up to a maximum of $1,000). Member donations will also be humbly accepted for further distribution to the shelter.
Plus, we’ll be handing out free bags of popcorn to our members.
Extra, Extra: insideAESES Newsletter (February 2018)
Thursday, February 1st, 2018
February’s issue of ‘insideAESES’ is printed and ready for your reading pleasure. This edition of ‘insideAESES’ features valuable articles related to:
- From the President’s Desk
- International Women’s Day
- Save the Date: Annual General Meeting
- AGM Agenda
- New Faces
- Can You Tell Me? – What is the Purpose of Performance Reviews?
- CCU Scholarship Winners
- Contract Admin
- Employee Spotlight – UM: Trevor Phillips
- Wellness Corner
- Nomination for AESES Board Reps & AESES District List
- Learning Lessons
- Design Results
Click on the following link to become informed about everything AESES related – February 2018 insideAESES newsletter
Now Here: AESES Education Seminars
Monday, January 29th, 2018
- Hot Yoga: Foundation Practice – Monday, March 12. 6:00-7:00pm.
Sweat, endurance, training your mind, working on flexibility, and improving circulation. All benefits of hot yoga. Or, simply pretend you’re in a tropical climate, minus the poolside beverages and sunscreen. This class is an excellent warm-up for all, including beginners. Half of the class will consist of standing postures and the remainder comprised of a floor series suitable for anyone who is moderately active. (space – 30 participants) - Hot Yoga: Hip Opening – Wednesday, March 14. 7:30-8:30pm.
This hip opening flow is said to be great for those who sit in a chair all day or as a compliment to any recreational physical activity, like running. Hip openers are meant to ease back and knee pain, along with improving circulation to the legs. Though this and the prior class are both labeled as hot yoga, there are areas within the studio room that are cooler, if needed. (space – 30 participants) - Estate Planning – Thursday, March 22. 6:30-8:30pm.
Estate lawyer, Cole Southall, of the Filmore Riley firm, will be leading this session on estate planning. The discussion will also cover the topics of wills, powers of attorney and health care directives. It never hurts to be more informed, whether we are looking towards our own interests, or those of our family members. (space – 30 participants) - Bike Maintenance/Repair Clinic – Wednesday, April 25. 5:30-6:30pm.
Staff at UM Cycle will take participants through a talk on common bicycle mishaps, how to prep your bike for ride season, and general maintenance tips that could benefit every rider – leisure or commuter. A display bike and tools will be used as visuals. (space – 20 participants) - English Country Dancing – Thursday, May 10. 7:00-9:00pm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFKPT1qDLiU … That’s a sample of this style of dance, but our version will take place without the head dresses, tailored outfits and formality. No previous dance experience required, really. If you know how to form a long line, and can travel along the line with a partner while following instructions for repeated moves, you’re almost owed a British passport. Should be fun. Live music. (space – 30 participants) - Wine Tasting – Wednesday, May 16. 7:00-9:00pm.
Wine varieties, plus sampling, makes for a tasty evening. Under the instruction of an employee of Grant Park Mall’s Liquor Mart, participants will be walked through a selection of summer wines, ideal for our eventual BBQ season. (space – 20 participants) - Axe Throwing – Saturday, May 26. 2:30-4:30pm.
The less refined cousin to darts, axe throwing takes lumberjacking to the next level. Enjoy some friendly competition, following a safety and technique lesson. You’ll feel really strong after, and maybe accomplished too, as not everyone has such diverse skills. (space – 40 participants)
Interested? If you’ve read through the above seminar descriptions and some pique your interest, fill out the registration form and submit it to the AESES Office, along with your payment, prior to the February 28th deadline. Seminars are intended for members and their significant others. All sessions are filled, based on when registrations and payments are received by the AESES Office.
Please note that as of this year, AESES is implementing a policy which requires that members be signed as union members in order to participate in our education seminars. If you are not yet signed (or aren’t sure), but are interested in attending, contact the AESES office and we’ll have you fill out a membership form, if needed.
5-pin: Bingo Bowling Sign-up
Monday, January 8th, 2018
AESES is heading back to the bowling alley for some 5-pin bowling. Join us on Saturday, February 10, 2018 and bowl some aces, chop-offs, corner pins, clean-ups, headpins, spares, splits and strikes (thank you for the terms Wikipedia!) as you help your team fill its bingo bowling cards. Avoiding gutter balls is usually appreciated too.
We will be meeting at Billy Mosienko Lanes (1136 Main Street) for 7:00pm. The cost to participate this year is $7 per player, which covers the bowling, shoe rentals, pizza slices and pop. Additional snacks and drinks (fizzy and the liquory kind) will be available for purchase through the bowling alley’s concession stand.
60 spots are available on a first paid, first served basis. Sign up on your own, with a spouse, or with coworkers, by completing the Bowling Registration Form. Teams/lanes will be assigned as registrations come in. Please note that this event is intended for AESES members and their spouses/partners only.
Prizes up for grabs for winning teams include coffee shop gift cards and tickets to the annual AESES Goldeyes baseball game.
The deadline to receive registrations and payments is January 26th, so circle the date on your calendar, fill out the Bowling Registration Form and submit it to the AESES Office with payment via interdepartmental mail:
- at UM – Mail Room, Stores Building
- at UW – Mail Room
Happy Holidays from AESES
Thursday, December 21st, 2017
From all of us here at the AESES office…Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderfully relaxing and refreshing Christmas break! May there be many moments of joy and at least one cup of eggnog to be enjoyed.
Our office will be closed Dec 22 – Jan 1, inclusive.
So, see you in 2018!
Calling All Creatives: Design Contest
Wednesday, December 6th, 2017
The AESES Communication Committee is seeking creative input from our union members. We’re looking to update our insideAESES newsletter’s masthead and we need help doing so.
What is a masthead, you might ask? It’s that portion at the top of the front page of our newsletter, which includes our contact info, volume info, insideAESES title, logo and accompanying image. See page 1 of our latest issue to get a sense of what it currently looks like.
We’re asking our members to submit their design samples to us by December 21, 2017, as part of a contest. The committee will then review all submissions and select the preferred choice for use in our future issues. The selection will earn the designer a $250 gift certificate to Best Buy.
The parameters for the masthead are as follows:
- must include AESES logo, either full colour or white/knockout
- must include insideAESES title, as well as ‘proud member of the Confederation of Canadian Unions’ text
- must include date, volume and issue number
- should establish our identity as a union and not be focused exclusively on one group over another (UM, UW, St. Andrew’s College)
- the dimensions for the width should be exactly 8.5” (612px). And the height should be a maximum of 4.0” (288px), but may be less.
- the file must have editable text and be of the .indd .psd .tif .ai or .eps variety
- any images used should have either the owner’s permission or be public domain
- when submitting your design, please let us know which font families were used
Please contact us with any questions about the contest, design parameters, or for access to AESES’ logo files. Submissions can be sent to ghamm@aeses.ca
The Ink is Still Drying: insideAESES Newsletter (December 2017)
Thursday, November 30th, 2017
December’s issue of ‘insideAESES’ is printed and ready for your reading pleasure. This edition of ‘insideAESES’ features valuable articles related to:
- insideAESES Newsletter Masthead Contest
- Employee Spotlight – UW: Leanne Shumka
- In Memoriam: Allen Yost
- Contract Admin
- Bingo Bowling Notice
- AESES Appointments
- Can You Tell Me? – Are there Mental Health Supports Available to Members?
- 2018 Proposed Budget
- From the President’s Desk
Click on the following link to become informed about everything AESES related – December 2017 insideAESES newsletter
Attention UM Members: Vacation and Banked Time Use/Carryover
Thursday, November 30th, 2017
As the end of 2017 is approaching and members of our union may be hearing from their departments in the near future about the use and potential carryover of banked time and vacation, we wanted to ensure our membership know their rights according to their collective agreement.
At the University of Manitoba, article 15.3 of the collective agreement speaks to vacation time:
- Subject to written approval of the department, up to ten working days of vacation may be taken in advance, provided it has been earned.
- Up to ten working days of vacation may be carried over from the normal vacation year to the next vacation year. No approval is required.
- Subject to the above, vacation entitlement which has not been used or scheduled for use by December 1st in the current vacation year will be scheduled by the Employer to ensure that all vacation entitlement is used by the end of the vacation year (March 31). The employer will provide at least fifteen calendar days notice of the start of an employee’s scheduled vacation. Prior to scheduling such vacation, the Employer shall give seven calendar days’ notice to the employee to allow the employee to make a final request for his/her holidays of preference.
In other words, an employee may carry over up to 10 unused vacation days from the 2017-18 fiscal year to the 2018-19 fiscal year. However, the employee must let the department know that they wish to carry over vacation days. For any unused vacation days that will not be carried over, the employee must schedule the use of those vacation days and let their department know of their plans to use it up. Otherwise, the department can schedule the use of the vacation days on the employee’s behalf, with appropriate notice.
At the University of Manitoba, articles 12.7 and 12.7.1 of the collective agreement speak to the banking of authorized overtime:
- The time off will be taken at a time requested by the employee unless in the opinion of management the time requested would be disruptive to the operation of the department. All accumulated hours worked over 40 will be paid as overtime unless the Dean/Director agrees in writing to allow the employee to accumulate more than 40 hours.
- Any accumulated hours not received as time off by the fiscal year end shall be paid, or the Department Head and employee may mutually agree to have unused accumulated overtime taken off in the following fiscal year.
In other words, it is up to an employee to decide when they want to use their banked time during the year. If they do not use up their banked hours by March 31, they will be paid out for them unless the employee, with permission of their department head, chooses to carry over their amount of banked hours into the 2018-19 fiscal year. It is important to note that the decision to use banked time is at the request of the employee. Your department cannot require you to use banked time (to reduce your bank) before using vacation time, or vice versa.
If you find yourself in a situation where the above policies are not being adhered to, please do not hesitate to contact the AESES office for assistance. We can be reached via email at aeses@aeses.ca or by phone at 204-949-5200.
Attention UW Members: Vacation and Banked Time Use/Carryover
Thursday, November 30th, 2017
- Normally each employee will earn vacation entitlement in one vacation year and take all of that vacation entitlement in the next following vacation year. However, subject to the written approval of the appropriate Manager, up to ten working days of vacation may be taken in advance provided it has been earned, plus up to five working days of vacation may be carried over from the normal vacation year for a combined advance and carryover total of up to fifteen working days of vacation.
- By no later than December 31 of each vacation year, the Employer shall ensure that vacations have been arranged such that all vacation leave will have been taken except for approved carryover.
- Provided the needs of the department can be met, the time off will be taken at a time requested by the employee. At any point during the fiscal year all accumulated hours in excess of 112 hours shall be paid.
- Any accumulated hours not received as time off by the fiscal year end shall be paid, or the employer and the employee may mutually agree to have unused accumulated overtime taken off in the following fiscal year.
If you find yourself in a situation where the above policies are not being adhered to, please do not hesitate to contact the AESES office for assistance. We can be reached via email at aeses@aeses.ca or by phone at 204-949-5200.