President's Update 
  

Welcome to September and a new academic year!!  I'm not really sure where the summer went as it seems like only yesterday we were putting out the patio furniture and buying yard plants. We had a slow start to summer this year, but boy has it rallied! September is looking awesome right now.

THANK YOU!
A big thanks to all of you that attended our Collective Agreement Town Halls and for the questions you sent to us. We had incredible engagement from our membership and we are thrilled that 78.7% of those that took the time to vote approved the agreement. This was an incredibly long round of bargaining, largely due to COVID and remote working issues, but it did allow us time to really review the agreement and make a number of changes related to ordering, language, layout and of course, interests. While we share your frustration on the resistance of our employer to provide monetary gains, we also understand that there was a mandate from our current government, which prevented a better gain. However, we are pleased with the improvements made, particularly around benefit premiums, anniversary dates and long service increments. We'll be back at it again in a little over a year!

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation - Sept. 30
A reminder to all of you that  the University will be closed September 30 (minus critical operations normally in place during campus closures) to allow for faculty, staff and students to acknowledge this day in their own way. Employees won’t need to record anything in their timesheets as this will be considered a non-work day. Individuals who work in critical areas and are required to work for operational reasons are able to schedule an alternate paid day-off in lieu of September 30 with their manager. As Arleen Gallo has expressed, please use this day to honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools during this time. 

Mount Royal’s Journey to Indigenization: Truth, Reconciliation and Decolonization, September 22 to October 4, includes numerous on-campus educational opportunities to start or continue your decolonization journey. Learn more. 

MRU Pride Sidewalk
You may have noticed the newly painted Progress Pride crosswalk outside the Riddell Library and Learning Centre. This has been repainted to place a greater emphasis on inclusion and progression, thus improving LGBTQ2S+ awareness. The rainbow crosswalk at Mount Royal University was first unveiled in 2018 as a sign of the institution’s commitment to be a respectful and inclusive campus. “Having the Pride crosswalk on our campus is a very meaningful symbol for the welcoming and inclusive environment we strive for here at MRU,” says Tim Rahilly.

Pack your patience and your lunch!
As we resume in person classes with our MRU students this week, a reminder that  approximately 500 students from Foundations for the Future Charter Academy (FFCA), South High School campus, along with 30 teachers, administrators and staff, will call Mount Royal home for the next 10 months. You can anticipate longer lines during breaks and lunches, so consider packing your own treats from home! As announced in Our Community last week, FFCA is renting space primarily in MRU’s Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning for its 2022-23 school year.

Fire drill
A mandatory fire drill will take place Wednesday, September 21 at 10:00 a.m. The drill will take up to 30 minutes. Everyone on campus is required to participate with the exception of those who are in Residence during the drill. Make sure you block this time off if your office area takes appointments.

Enjoy the last lazy days of summer all!!

---

Michelle LoGullo | President
Mount Royal Staff Association
mlogullo@mtroyal.ca

Labour Relations Officer Update

2020 - 2024 Collective Agreement Implementation

 Any department, or group of employees, can coordinate a lunchtime meeting with me, where we can  discuss the new collective agreement.  If there are specific articles that you’re curious about I can highlight those, or simply answer questions.  I can also provide you information regarding specific articles that have changed and have an impact on your working life.  Please reach out to lro@mrustaff.ca to coordinate.

Please note that there are several changes in the collective agreement, which the employer will be changing as of August 26, the ratification date.  

• The benefits premium cost share for 20% employee paid/80% employer paid will be effective October 1, 2022.  

• Changes in Article 16: Salary Administration will be made within two (2) months.  The Long Service Increment (LSI) and the change to anniversary date will be completed during this time.  If you believe this change has any impact on your salary, please review the change and effect carefully. 

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to be in contact with me at lro@mrustaff.ca to confirm and assess if the change has been made correctly.  For LSI or anniversary date changes, please wait to contact me until at least mid-October.

 In addition to these changes, there are several language changes that MRSA will be using to better represent you through the remaining term of this agreement.  Please let me know what areas of the collective agreement you have questions about and I will work to provide resources.

 Paycycle Change

This is an early reminder that there will be a paycycle change starting January 1, 2023.  Your final pay for 2022 is December 23, 2022.  Your first pay in 2023 will be January 24.  This means there are 32 days between each pay received.  This is a significant change!  Please prepare early if at all possible.

MRU will be making an advance payment available for those employees who wish to take advantage of this.  The advance payment is “in addition to” your pay and will be required to be paid back during the 2023 year.  You can view the updated paycycle change in the employee section of MyMRU.

 Systems Implementation

MRSA is continuing to work on our systems implementation.  We are looking forward to trying out some of our new systems in the near future.

MRSA Learning Opportunities

Lunch and learns: Registration form.

Please note - you can register up to one day before the course.  The link for the course will be sent to each registrant one day in advance, and as a reminder.  Everyone is welcome to attend, and I will endeavour to record these sessions for later use.

Lunch n’ Learns will be scheduled for the lunch hour, and offered virtually.  Here is a detailed description of the lunch and learn content.

Thursday, September 15 -  Collective Agreement Interpretation - an Introduction

Thursday, October 13  - Grievances - Dispute Resolution and Process

Thursday, November 17 - Dues - What is all that $$ for and why?

Thursday, December 15 -  Job Action - Strike, Lockout and Essential Services

 ___________________________________

Stay safe,

Laine Fowler
Labour Relations Officer

Joint Occupation Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC)

You can now reach out directly to the committee by emailing JOHSC@mtroyal.ca. 

Here are the minutes from the last meeting  JOHSC Minutes. You can view how many incidents have occurred on campus, including Covid statistics.

Remember that you have rights as an employee:

• The right to know,

• The right to participate, and

• The right to refuse dangerous work.

MRSA Events

Social Committee

Welcome to fall semester!  We hope you had a great summer.

The Social Committee has had two members move-on for this upcoming year (one has stepped down and one has left MRU); so if you are interested in joining us, please let us know. Join our committee by emailing us at mrsasocial@mtroyal.ca.

If you missed August’s newsletter, here’s some important info to catch you up:

Sign-up by September 16 for our inaugural MRSA Olympics!

                                         

Sign-up as a team or as an individual and join us for strange, fun and wacky events. Each month there will be one competition style event to test you and your team. These challenges will need all different types of strengths - not just physical. 

Teams will be made up of 5 members, you can be with people you know or people you don’t! Don’t have 4 friends to sign-up with? No problem, sign-up as an individual and we’ll add you to a team so you can meet new people.

Everyone is welcome to come out to the opening ceremonies and all of our events. While the olympic events will run from September-June, the overall time commitment is only 1 hour per month over a lunch hour (12:00-1:00 pm). Closing ceremonies will take place in June where we will award prizes to the winners!

Choose a team colour or wear something fun (you never know what points will be awarded for) and we’ll see you at the starting line on September 27th in the Lincoln Park room (J 301)!

Sign-up for the MRSA Olympics here. Sign-up deadline: Friday, September 16, 2022.

If you would like to sign-up as an alternate to fill in on a team when someone is missing, please sign-up to be an alternate here.

If you would like to add the Opening Ceremonies event to your Google Calendar so you don’t miss out on the fun, please click this link.

September Newsletter Quiz
Complete this quiz and you could win a $20.00 e-gift card from the Social Committee.  The person who has the most correct answers will win. Should a tie occur, then we will do a random draw via Wheel of Names. This Quiz is open to all MRSA Members.  The quiz is due by October 3, 2022 4:30 p.m. to be eligible to win.

NEW EVENT: MRU Social Networking

Do you feel like you don’t know many people on campus or maybe even within your own department? Join us for an event in October to get to know more MRSA members.  This event will be held on Thursday, October 6, 2022 between 12:00 – 1:00 p.m., (Location to be determined.) Please sign-up for our Social Networking event here so that we can book an appropriate sized room.  We will send a calendar invitation to all who sign-up one week prior to this event (on September 29). Someone will win a $10.00 gift card to Westgate Social (SAMRU member-owned restaurant on campus).

Something new – we normally send out our events month by month, but this year we are trying to let you know about what’s coming ahead of time, so you can also plan to join us.  See our expected List of Events for the Year below (subject to changes if necessary).

September – Newsletter Quiz – due October 3
September 27 – MRSA Olympics – Opening Ceremonies
October 6 – Social Networking Event
October 18 – MRSA Olympic Event
October 31 – MRSA Halloween Costume Contest
November – Newsletter Crossword Puzzle – due November 30
November 15 – Lunchtime Documentary
November 22 – MRSA Olympic Event
December 8 – Gingerbread House Contest
January – Newsletter Quiz – due January 31
January 12 – Multicultural Potluck
January 24 – MRSA Olympic Event
February 13 – 17 – Positive Notes Campaign
February 28 – MRSA Olympic Event
March 12-17 – Leprechaun Selfies contest
March 23 - MRSA Olympic Event
April – Newsletter Quiz – due Apr. 28
April 25 - MRSA Olympic Event
May – Diversity Event (TBD)
May 30 - MRSA Olympic Event
June – Pride Month table (TBD)
June 9 - MRSA Olympic Event
June 29 – MRSA Olympic Closing Ceremonies

We are also looking for a photographer; you don’t need to be a professional, but if you are interested in helping us at our events to take photos, we would love to have you join us.  Please reach out to us at our email account mrsasocial@mtroyal.ca to let us know your interest and availability.

If you have any suggestions or feedback for the Social Committee, please feel free to provide your feedback via this form.

______________________

Thank you again,

The Social Committee

General Announcements

Planning for your retirement? 

It’s never too early to plan for your retirement. Mount Royal runs a two-day course titled Planning for Personal Freedom facilitated by a Financial Counselor who has been practicing in the industry for over 15 years. This hands-on workshop is designed for participants (and their partner/spouse) who would like to evaluate their ability to maintain their lifestyle at a chosen retirement date.

There are three basic objectives to the workshop: 

1. To identify and address any immediate issues with respect to your retirement plans, 
2. To provide a planning framework to help you plan long term goals, and 
3. To provide specific information in the key areas of lifestyle, finance and estate planning. 

A minimum of 30 employees are needed to run the workshop. If this is of interest to you please add your name to the waitlist and indicate your preferred time of year for the workshop (three choices). 

Small Group Training at MRU Recreation

Did you know that there are currently FREE small group training sessions available in the Recreation center. Please click this link for more information about these classes. There is a maximum of eight (8) people per class so registering early is advised. All classes take place on the track level, and are included with membership facility access.

New Massage Therapy clinic for specialized treatment

The Massage Therapy Diploma program at Mount Royal University is excited to offer a new service to the community. In Massage Outreach III, eligible clients receive specialized treatment for certain conditions at no cost to them. Clients with conditions such as Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries and chronic pain and more can book now!

Fall EDT Application Period now open!

If you have any professional or personal development courses that begin between September 1 - December 31, 2022, you can apply for funding through the MRSA EDT Committee. 

 Applications are submitted via the EDT database; MRU login credentials are required to access. The fall application period closes on December 31, 2022.

 If you have any questions, please contact the EDT Committee at edtmrsa@mtroyal.ca

Canadian Blood Services Life Bus
 

On August 17th, a group of MRSA Executives and members took the Life Bus to Canadian Blood Services so we could donate blood. This is an easy and convenient way for us to help our larger community – blood products are always in need, and donors can literally help save lives.

Our trip was a pilot for a larger initiative. Everything worked well, and we had a great time – so as long as there is a demand, we will be scheduling a bus on a monthly basis. We’ve already booked dates for September 21 (12:10 PM pickup) and October 12 (12:00 PM pickup), but space is limited (seven volunteers per bus).

To book an appointment go to myaccount.blood.ca and login to your account (or create one). From there, go to Partners (on the left-hand menu bar) and join the MRSA team by entering our ID: MOUN0104716. Click on View Team, and you’ll see available appointments at the bottom of the page. If you have any questions, contact James at jjparsons@mtroyal.ca.

If you have a group of volunteers who wish to donate in your area, James can help you book a bus of your own. Everything is coordinated from the MRSA Team but you don’t have to be a member to help – the more the merrier!

The next appointment is booked for September 21, with pick-up at Muster Point 1 (outside Child Care Services, West Gate) for 12:20. Please allow for about an hour and a half for the appointment and travel time.