The Muse, vol. 49, no. 17 (26 February 1999)

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February 26, 1999
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Volume 49, Number 17
Stipends represent preferential treatment: CUPE
University says union misunderstood the issue, unfairly singled out employees
By JEANETTE TAYLOR
Allegations of preferential
treatment and secret tactics in
handing out salary adjustments
have sparked a war of words between the university and one of
its unions.
. When news got out earlier this
month that non-union staff working in the offices of the president
and vice-presidents were receiving stipends of $ 1,500 to $2,500 a
year, apparently to coverincreased
work-loads, representatives ofthe
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said that represented preferential treatment.
About 200 members of CUPE
local 1615, the union representing technical and instructional staff at the university,
Council gives CHMR
new budget plan
Reducing CSU grant, increasing
fundraising revenue could have
uncertain consequences: Rollmann
By AMANDA LABONTE
A new funding plan adopted by
the CSU may prove devastating
for Memorial's campus radio station, say station representatives.
A CSU committee reviewing
CHMR's finances recommended
a five-year plan that would reduce
the council's operating grant to
the station by about $15,000. But
the report also proposed
fundraising alternatives that could
see the station's total operating
budget increase by roughly $8,000
over those same five years.
Councillors voted to adopt the
report at a Feb. 17 meeting.
CHMR currently operates on a
$54,500 budget which is funded
almost entirely by the CSU. The
report projects that by 2002-03
the council's grant will be reduced
to$37,900 while thestation would
receive $24,100 from other
sources, brining its total operating
budget to $62,000. Suggested
sources of revenue include airing
teligious programming, CD sales,
. government grants and funding
from the university.
Hans Rollmann, program director of CHMR, says by reducing the
station's stable source of funding
and replacing it with unstable
sources, the report could have devastating effects.
"We're already running a bare
bones radio station," he said.
"We're one of the cheapest in
Canada and you can't cut a bare
bones organization any more
without any guarantee that
you'll get extra revenue to make
up the slack."
The review committee was established a month ago after members of CHMR, complaining they
weren' t getting consistent answers
about the station's future, packed
the Jan. 20 council meeting.
Brett Dawe, vice-president external ofthe CSU, chaired the committee. He says the uproar started
because of certain questions he
raised that people misinterpreted
as a desire to shut down the station
— something he adds is not true.
"I supported CHMR, I still do,
but I don't support it to the end that
we have to slash and cut our budget
• Please see "CRTC'page 4
protested the matter outside
the Arts and Administration
Building on Feb. 11.
"We just wanted to make sure
that al 1 employees on campus were
aware ofthe employeraction,"said
CUPE spokesperson Bryan Farewell. "Not that we could do anything about legally preventing it,
but just to make sure that the university was also put on notice that
the employees of the university
don't think that the university is
behaving in a manner that is consistent with all their employees."
Farewell says the university just
went through a round collective
bargaining negotiations in which
all university employees weresup-
posed to be put a single pay scale.
"They are asking employees to
buy into this concept [of a single
scale] and yet they just turn right
around and augment eight employee salaries in a discretionary
manner," he said. "I think you lose
your total credibility by that, and
the [CUPE] workers wanted to
point that out to the university
management and to make sure the
employees on campus were aware
of it."
• Please see "Union"page 9
Two students enjoy an unseasonally warm Monday with a alongsidethe Science Building. Photo
by David Laidley
MUN group
demonstrates against fur
By DALE C. HAYNES	
A small but determined group
of protesters braved the chilly
weather Feb. 13 to promote the
rights of animals.
Memorial University Students
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (MUNSETA) held a silent
protest in front of Vogue Furriers
on Water Street. The group was
founded by second-year biology
student Julianna Barry in October 1998. It is currently recog
nized by the CSU; but will not
become a ratified society until
next year.
The group's main goal, says
Barry, is to make the university
community and the general public "aware of the unethical treatment of animals."
The group is also campaigning
to make animal dissections in science labs optional for students.
Barry says she is a firm believer
that any student at Memorial who
does not wish to participate in
animal dissections should not feel
compelled to do so.
Fellow protesters Kim Power
and Jennifer Turner agree.
Power, a fourth-year biology
student, says she joined the protest "to help raise awareness that
the use of fur is unnecessary."
Turner, a third-yearbiology student, adds that fur in today's society has become "a symbol of materialistic wealth."
Although such groups have in-
• Please see "Group"page 4
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