A look back at 2025
A Year of Unity, Strength, and Connection — Thank You, BUSS Members!
To all our incredible OSSTF BUSS members,
As the year draws to a close, the Executive Team wants to extend a sincere thank you for your commitment, strength, and spirit throughout an extraordinary year. Together we’ve navigated important strike votes, stood up for fairness, connected with our community, and embraced self-care in meaningful ways.
Standing Strong Together
This year saw us face some of the most important decisions in our union’s recent history — from engaging in strike votes that showed resounding member solidarity to ultimately ratifying a collective agreement that reflects our collective voice and priorities. Your participation, your questions, and your votes made all the difference.
Celebrating and Supporting Our Community
Beyond the bargaining table, BUSS members showed up in full force to strengthen our community bonds:
- Wellness Day 2025 — A joyful day of activities, from flower arranging to pickleball, where we reconnected, laughed, and celebrated well-being together. Our donation to the raffle helped raise funds for student scholarships — something we’re incredibly proud of.
- Holiday Social & Recognition Events — From fun at our seasonal gatherings to celebrating colleagues at our annual recognition event, you brought warmth and enthusiasm to every moment.
- Community Awareness & Giving Back — BUSS members marked important dates like Giving Tuesday and Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence against Women, embodying our union’s commitment to care, solidarity, and justice.
Caring for Ourselves — Together
This year we also prioritized self-care as a community — recognizing that our strength lies not only in advocacy but in supporting each other’s well-being. From informal check-ins to encouraging participation in wellness-focused activities, your openness and support for one another helped make BUSS a more caring and connected community.
Community Events & Outreach
Wellness, Awareness & Community Support
- Wellness Day 2025 at Brock University — a full day of wellness activities including workshops, games, and crafting, plus a raffle supporting student scholarships.
- Supporting Gillian’s Place — hygiene product drive at the AGM to support a local women’s shelter.
- Every Child Matters: Honouring Orange Shirt Day — OSSTF BUSS ordered orange shirts to support reconciliation awareness and contributed funds to the Orange Shirt Society.
- Supporting Project Share Niagara Falls (Addressing Period Poverty) — members joined a period products packing event hosted by Project Share to support community needs.
- Food Drive to Support Community Care – together, we raised $4,391 and collected over 1,200 pounds of the most-needed items for Community Care!
- Shoe Box Project through NLC – we donated items to the Shoe Box Project which provides local women with gifts and essentials all year long
- CIBC Run for the Cure — BUSS members participated in fundraising and the Run for Breast Cancer research.
- December 6 — Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence against Women — recognition and solidarity in the Global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
Lunch & Learn Series (2025)
Scheduled/Completed Lunch & Learns
- Microsoft Planner 101 — June 2, 2025
- Human Trafficking — June 17, 2025
- Campaign Monitor — July 17, 2025
- Social Media 101 — August 7, 2025
- Safer Space: Creating a 2SLGBTQ+ Inclusive Workplace — September 18, 2025
- Digital Accessibility Training — September 25, 2025
- WordPress Training — October 9, 2025
- Ronald McDonald House Presentation — October 23, 2025
- Ellie Joseph: Two Row Wampum Treaty — November 12, 2025
Other Union Activities (Related to Member Engagement)
- Snack & Chat — Collective Agreement & Member Mapping Survey Q&A — October 2, 2025
- Annual General Meeting (AGM) — May 29, 2025
- International Women’s Day — March 8, 2025
- General Membership Meeting — January 15, 2025
- Moose Hide Campaign Kiosk — September 29, 2025
- Community Food Drive — October 18, 2025
- Turkey Draw — October 8, 2025
- CIBC Run for the Cure (Run Day) — October 5, 2025
Looking Ahead with Gratitude
We’re deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together — through hard work, through collaboration, and through shared purpose. Each one of you contributes to what makes OSSTF BUSS not just a union, but a community of colleagues, advocates, and friends.
Thank you for your trust, your energy, and your heart. Here’s to another year of standing strong — together.
With appreciation,
The OSSTF BUSS Executive Team
Brock University Support Staff 