Graduate Students may soon have a chance to vote for the dissolution of their union, which is in at least $2 million of debt and is proposing a $45 annual hike in student fees.
The Teaching Assistants’ Union of Memorial University of Newfoundland (TAUMUN), has introduced a petition to call for an emergency meeting with the intent to dissolve the Graduate Student Union (GSU) to “clear the path for a new, transparent organization designed to represent all campuses and faculties.”
According to emails graduate students received from Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Amy Warren, Memorial and the GSU are reportedly working towards both the development of a new agreement and rectification of GSU’s outstanding debts to Greenshield, estimated by anonymous source to be approximately $1.8 million.
In addition to this, the GSU also owes Newfoundland’s chapter of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS-NL) $177,630.01 and the National branch of CFS $177,630.01, for a total of $355,260.02 owed from undelivered dues.
Altogether, the unions’ past outstanding debts likely amount to over $2 million, however it is unclear where they sit financially at the present moment. The latest financial statement on GSU website is from 2021.
The Muse contacted the GSU for comment and for clarification on its debt, and will update when we receive a response.
The petition
TAUMUN represents Teaching Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and Research Assistants at Memorial, which make up about 25% of graduate students.
In a Quarterly Newsletter on March 2, TAUMUN said it has concerns about TA labour and pay and an “unethical” proposed referendum to increase GSU membership dues, which would bring the annual membership cost from about $90 a year to $135 per year, a $45 increase.
In its petition, TAUMUN said it is proposing the dissolution due to the GSU reaching a state of “irremediable insolvency.”
TAUMUN cites “institutional fiscal mismanagement,” “terminal organizational liability,” “erosion of service viability,” “compromised representative autonomy,” and the “necessity of structural liquidation” as its rationale for proposing the motion.
The TAUMUN executive said that they “condemn any Service Level Agreements or Memoranda of Understanding not ratified by the general membership,” urging GSU leadership to maintain their autonomy as a union.
“Graduate students deserve a better future than that proposed by the GSU, and therefore, they must have the democratic opportunity to decide their future,” says the statement.
The petition states that if members vote in favour of dissolution, the Graduate Student Union will “cease to exist, rendering all existing representative and service agreements null and void.”
The petition has surpassed the 25-signature rule, under the GSU constitution, for the Extraordinary General Meeting to go ahead, with about 40 signatures at the time of writing.
Comment from TAUMUN executives
TAUMUN Vice President Tristan Poulin said the tipping point in deciding to put the petition forward was the realization that the union intended to raise dues to solve its debt problem.
“We thought that was highly unethical to make current members pay for a debt that wasn’t contracted by them,” said Poulin,
“The best and simplest way to put it is we think it’ll be a clean slate,” said TAUMUN President Kieran Knoll.
“It’ll be a debt-free student body. It will be a body that has autonomy to make decisions for [itself]. At this point, without theorizing what a future could be, it essentially would be a future without risk by the GSU.”
He said TAUMUN isn’t trying to grab more power or replace GSU. Knoll said GSU members are simply using TAUMUN as a platform to elevate their concerns.
“The feedback we’re hearing from our members and from our community that we’re talking to is that there is a disconnect, that there is a kind of ‘why even bother at this point?’ kind of mentality,” said Knoll.
Knoll said he was equally concerned that according to him, the GSU executive were pursuing a potential loan from the university rather than listening to membership.
“That is an extremely weak advocacy position to put themselves in. And that actually impacts all of us as unions,” Knoll said.
We will provide updates as the story progresses.
