UBC Alma Mater Society staff set up picket line
Members of COPE Local 378 are picketing the north entrance of the Student Union Building at UBC's Point Grey campus until 4:30 p.m. today.
The union has announced the job action by security workers after mediation with the employer didn't get anywhere.
The picketing will not appear on the south side of the building, which will enable full access, according to the union.
The AMS represents more 48,000 UBC students and operates student services, student-owned businesses, resource groups, and clubs.
The student association hasn't posted financial statements on its website since the 2009–10 fiscal year. In that year, it reported nearly $14.6 million in revenue.
“The last time we came forward with proposed job action the AMS asked us back into mediation," COPE Local 378 communications representative Jarrah Hodge said in a statement. "We went back to the table in good faith but they haven’t moved on the key issues. These workers are still the lowest-paid security workers on campus by far."
The union claims that the AMS "has refused to confirm recall rights" if staff are laid off. In addition, the union alleges that management is putting forward a two-tier wage offer, which would result in new employees receiving less than existing workers.
AMS president Matt Parson told the Straight by phone that the association is "deeply disappointed" by the union's decision to take job action 131 days after the last strike vote. He maintained that the B.C. Labour Code requires strikes to occur within 90 days of a vote.
"One can interpret that as they may, and it's not my decision to determine whether it's an unlawful strike or not," Parson stated. "That's up to the Labour [Relations] Board to decide. As I interpret the Labour Code, it says you must have had a strike vote in the past 90 days for you to be able to hold a strike."
When asked if the AMS will file a complaint with the LRB, he replied that management is still determining what actions it will choose.
"We are very much are committed to finding an amicable resolution for our first collective agreement for the security department," Parson added.
He characterized the AMS as having made a "very generous offer with wages exceeding that of other comparable unionized security workers, like those of the Vancouver Art Gallery".
"We're going to continue to fight for a scheduling system that will allow us to continue to employ and schedule students," Parson said, adding that the wage offer "greatly surpassed" the provincial average increase of 0.67 for a first collective agreement. "Unfortunately, it has fallen well short of the union's demand of a 60 percent increase to their wages."
Parson did not reveal how much the security workers are paid, saying it falls within an unspecified range depending on experience and certification.
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Comments
6 Comments
Hans Goldberg
Jul 13, 2012 at 12:00pm
Our future leaders in action, UBC is serving the corporate sector well.
Anonymous UBC staff
Jul 13, 2012 at 12:02pm
"The picketing will not appear on the south side of the building, which will enable full access, according to the union."
This is, at best, a little misleading. There is a large construction project at the south end of the building and the south entrance has been blocked for weeks. Someone approaching the SUB from the south or west wishing to enter the building without crossing the picket line will have to detour 500m (as measured with Google Maps from the intersection of University Boulevard and East Mall.
Anonymous UBC staff #2
Jul 13, 2012 at 2:19pm
"The student association hasn't posted financial statements on its website since the 2009–10 fiscal year. In that year, it reported nearly $14.6 million in revenue."
Why is a non for profit not disclosing its financial statements?
Un-disciplined elitist executive, overpaid (100k) overstaffed management, pays the lowest student wages in the country per man hour and charges students extra per year to build a new 100 million dollar building for their business operations.
For an organization who's mandate is to help and protect students, sounds like they only care about helping themselves and their own pocketbooks.
Here is some support for the workers and their right to exercise peaceful job action. I ask for more accountability in todays student organizations.
"Anonymous AMS Staff"
Jul 13, 2012 at 3:05pm
I fail to see how "The picketing will not appear on the south side of the building, which will enable full access, according to the union." is misleading. There are still 4 doors (including a handicap door) on the South side not blocked off by the construction and there only ever was one on the West side which is also not blocked. The detour around the construction you would have to make regardless of the picket line. From the intersection of University Boulevard and East Mall you wouldn't even need to see the picket line if you went inside through the West side or the South side. Google maps does not make a viable substitute for actually looking at the area
Emily Watts
Jul 13, 2012 at 4:08pm
"Why is a non for profit not disclosing its financial statements? "
They don't disclose their financial statements on their website, but they do disclose them as all non profits must.
AMS is running a budget deficit last I checked.
That fact that the AMS is a non-profit organization and the use of their funds is determined by a student council, which is elected by the students, makes them a strange target for Union propaganda accusing them of short changing students with low wages and high fees. The majority of those picketing don't look like students. The middle-eastern man I talked to said he is not a student but pointed out one picketer out of the bunch and said "that guy is a student."
He also mentioned it was not fair that the AMS is planning on building a floor to floor slide in the new building instead of paying him more money.
The audacity of the students deciding to raise money to build such a feature in their new student union building instead of providing this man with more money on his paycheck which the union now gets a piece of.
All very interesting.
Tim.
Jul 18, 2012 at 12:07am
As a student at UBC and a former executive member of the AMS, I'm very disappointed. This is a student union that seems to find lots of money for their own perks but doesn't have money for the workers that make the student union function. This is also the student union, a couple of years ago, didn't even want to pay their student staff minimum wage until a lawyer said it was illegal. And if the student union didn't have money, they wouldn't have hired a new layer of managers and they certainly wouldn't have a ridiculous amount of money in their reserve funds.