Employees' Union Questions MASC Layoffs

The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU) is questioning the reasoning behind intended layoffs at Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC).

 

Premier Brain Pallister has stated that the layoffs are warranted due to a lack of work.

 

“I don’t know where the Premier gets his facts, but the reality is our members at MASC are as busy as ever; in fact, MASC is currently looking to fill positions for agricultural adjustors and hiring summer students to help out,” said MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky. “Our farmers are facing unprecedented challenges right now and need these services more than ever. This is our bread and butter.”

 

Gawronsky notes MASC recently notified the union of up to 40 layoffs in the unit where workers administer a range of risk management and financing options to support farmers. She adds employer representatives told the MGEU that about a dozen lay-offs were certain and that, in order to minimize further layoffs, MASC workers in the Administration unit would also be required to take 35 unpaid days off in the current year.

 

“This amounts to a fifteen per cent pay cut,” commented Gawronsky. "Our members were given a very short time to decide whether or not to agree to this.”

 

In a letter to the group, MASC President and CEO Jared Munro told affected workers that MASC has been required by government to reduce workforce expenses by 20% as part of its effort to cut spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Gawronsky has sent a letter to Minister of Agriculture and Resource Development Blaine Pedersen, calling on the government to reverse the cuts.

 

“It makes no sense to reduce work days for staff who are very busy delivering important public services,” added Gawronsky. “It is even more absurd to impose layoffs or work reductions on permanent employees with mortgages to pay and families to support while hiring summer students.”

 

The MGEU is investigating other means to address the issue, including utilizing the grievance procedure.

 

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.