The Martlet

Last week an article was printed in The Martlet about José Barrios, a student and union member who is attempting to remove the at-large representatives on the UVSS Board of Directors.

Barrios seems to feel that the representatives are entirely responsible for the state of the current labour dispute.

The employer and the union both agree that this petition is counter-productive to finding a true solution. The labour dispute can only be resolved at the bargaining table.

I would like to take this chance to clarify why this petition will not be included on the Oct. 16 Annual General Meeting agenda.

The UVSS bylaws state very clearly that impeachment (the removal of directors) can only be initiated by either a two-thirds vote at a Board of Directors meeting, or a petition signed by five per cent of the student body presented at a Board of Directors meeting.

If either of these two requirements is fulfilled, the question for impeachment will be put forward to a general meeting agenda. This petition did not meet any of the following requirements.

First, it had less than five per cent of the UVSS membership’s signatures. It had only 500 signatures, while five per cent of the current undergraduates enrolled is a little over 800 signatures. Second, it was not presented to a quorate Board of Directors meeting. Third, it was not presented with enough notice to include it on the Oct. 16 AGM agenda.

The petition to impeach the UVSS Board is also not endorsed by the union in any way. In fact, on the union’s official blog they state: “This [impeachment petition] would be in very bad faith and would also make no logical sense, for the simple reason that we would then have no employer to bargain with.”

To add to this, many students have come forward stating that they were not properly informed about the intention of the petition when approached to sign it.

Sadly, this attempt to remove student board members who are doing their jobs is just distracting and taking time away from the UVSS Directors’ ability to find a solution to the strike that is both fair for the workers and fair for the rest of the students.

The strike is negative for everyone involved: the workers, the Board of Directors, but most importantly, the average student who depends on UVSS and SUB services. The UVSS has been working incredibly hard to give a fair wage while at the same time balancing the Students’ Society’s budget and the mandate to provide affordable campaigns and services.

If you would like to see your SUB back open, please urge the union to return to the table and negotiate to find a compromise that is fair for SUB workers and UVic students as a whole.