GSA COUNCIL

Notice of Meeting
January 15, 2020
4:00PM – 6:00PM
NH 3318

AGENDA
Time Item Action

4:00PM 1. Speaker’s Welcome and Opening Remarks -

4:01PM 2. Adoption of the Agenda For Approval

4:03PM 3. Attendance For Information

4. Approval of Minutes
4:08PM For Approval
a. December 4, 2019

5. Reports
a. Update from the Board – Stirling (5 mins)
For Information
4:10PM b. Advising the President - Samuel (15 mins)
and Decision
◦ VP reappointment
◦ Funding increases

6. Presentations
4:30PM a. Advocacy and Policy Overview – Ryan (15 Mins) For Information
b. Councilor Roles & Responsibilities (15 mins)

7. Decision Items
5:00PM a. Commissioner and Committee Structure – Billedeau (15 mins) For Decision
b. Unionization – Billedeau, Samuel, Sargent (45 mins)

6:00PM 8. Adjournment -

RECEPTION FOR COUNCIL

6:30PM – 8:00PM
Grad House, Second Floor
Free Food + Drinks!
 MINUTES
1. Speaker’s Welcome and Opening Remarks 4:02
Billedeau takes the chair and calls the meeting to order at 4:02.
2. Adoption of the Agenda 4:02
Motion to approve the agenda. Approved.
3. Attendance 4:03
Billedeau and Little take the attendance.
4. Approval of Minutes 4:04
a) December 4, 2019
Approved.
5. Reports 4:05
a) Update from the Board
Job posting for chief returning officer; please inform constituents about the
position. Information is available on the GSA website.
b) Advising the President
The President delivered an update about the student choice initiative. Changes
to fee structures are being proposed for the spring term with consultation from
Council and Board prior to university approval. Organizational updates were
provided on the following topics: grad house improvement, cultural event
(postponed from March to Fall term), vital signs survey (February 2020),
townhall, advocacy, and events.
The consistency of SCI and political position 11 was discussed. The fee opt-out
system will be maintained for spring; whether this system remains in place after
that time will be up for discussion. Social initiatives are separated into their own
fee category due to student feedback. Opt-ins to social initiatives are monitored
via averaged departmental data; however, the equity of this was questioned.
The President decided to move social initiatives back into association fees after
Council consultation. Core GSA activities are included under mandatory fees
and portable Watcard readers are used to monitor who has paid the fee.
Mechanisms for determining who has paid their fees can be discussed in future
meetings. The option of including the grad house in mandatory fees was
discussed. The optional fee system has not changed GSI funding opportunities.
VP Reappointment
As per policy, the President must consider the reappointment of the VP prior to
the end of their term. The President advocated to reappoint the current VP
through to the 2021 term.
Motion to reappoint Billedeau as Vice President of the GSA for the 2020-
2021 term (Samuel/Robbins). Approved unanimously.
 Funding Increases
Funding level increases that support costs of living in the region were proposed.
The data sources informing funding level increases are available in the
supporting document attached to the president’s report – ‘GSSAC Funding’. The
implications of endorsing a minimal increase were questioned. The amount of
money estimated for shelter seems too low. Further, after tuition is deducted
from funding, the amount of funding does not appear to match the current reality
of cost of living. The methods behind this calculation were also discussed, e.g.
adequate living versus bare minimum.
Motion to approve the funding level increases for the GSSAC 2020-2021
term (Samuel/Sargent). Unanimously disapproved. Motion does not pass.
Revision: Encourage the University of Waterloo to revise their funding
levels to match current cost of living estimates for the average graduate
post-secondary student.
6. Presentations 4:37
a) Advocacy and Policy Overview
An overview of Policy 33: Ethical Behaviour, Policy 70: Student Petitions and
Grievances and Policy 73: Intellectual Property Rights were presented. The flow
charts included in the presentation will be posted on the GSA website.
b) Councilor Roles & Responsibilities
Expectations for ambassadors of the GSA were outlined. The process for the
following activities were described: engaging constituents and handling and
sharing feedback, council meetings and business, advising the GSA President,
and serving on committees. Social media and communication strategies for
GSA members were listed. Updates to the GSA website are expected to launch
next month.
7. Decision Items 4:54
a) Commissioner and Committee Structure
There are two acting commissioners for the Standing Advocacy Committees,
bringing into question their financial value to graduate students. A proposal was
made to abolish CP-2(2.b) and CP-6 and replace them with short-term research
contracts. The requirements for these contracts were outlined. Councilors would
be given priority for contracts and if none respond, then the call goes out to the
larger graduate student body. Current commissioners will not be eliminated from
council; their positions and voting rights will be maintained.
In instances where more than one councilor wants to apply for a research
contract, the procedure would be to form a team for larger projects and divide
funds. A difficulty that was noted for the SAC was the combination of
environment and diversity: a call for committee members was put out but the
diversity political position was not well represented in applications. Another
issue that was noted was the ambiguity surrounding the process of
communication between commissioners and council. Feasibility of drawing up
contracts for commissioners was discussed; long-term retention of
commissioners cannot be guaranteed, and engagement over time has remained
 low. Further, asking councilors to dedicate more time to committees is not
reasonable. Council voting would be used to determine the “as-needed” basis
for research contracts.
Motion to eliminate CP-2(2.b) and CP-6 (Commissioner Positions and
Standing Advocacy Committees) in favour of short-term research
contracts, on an as-needed basis (Billedeau/Salahub). Vote (y/n/a) 14-0-2.
b) Unionization
Background and process for unionization were presented. The council’s role in
the negotiation process was discussed; finer details would be decided if
unionization passes. An e-vote for beginning the process of unionization was
proposed for the following reasons: feedback from constituents is needed, 24-
hour period for voting, and anonymous voting. Only Billedeau, Samuel and
Sargent will have access to the individual votes; Sargent declared that they are
willing to not be provided with access if anonymity is desired. Regarding how
feedback from constituents could be gathered and considered, members stated
that an email is sent to their constituents detailing the proposed changes,
followed by an online vote.
Motion for the GSA Council to recommend that the GSA Board of
Directors review and organize the unionization of graduate TAs, RAs, and
sessional instructors at the University of Waterloo.
Revision: Motion for the GSA Council to support the formation of a union
of graduate TAs, RAs, and sessional instructors at the University of
Waterloo and to recommend that the GSA Board of Directors review and
organize the unionization.
The advantages and disadvantages of unionization were presented.
If unionization passes, it is unclear who would be included in the union, as well
as the extent of involvement of third party oversight. Data from third-party
sources for graduate student funding was requested in addition to IAP sources,
as well as a breakdown of the variability in minimum-maximum funding within
and across institutions. Wass will send out third-party data sources that analyze
union costs and outcomes. Costs of living in the pay scale table was noted as
being possibly lower than current estimates. The table showing pay scales can
be made available to share with constituents. Validity of not receiving support
from FAUW was questioned.
Motion to extend the meeting by 20 minutes (Sargent/Bjelan). Approved
unanimously.
More research for the disadvantages behind unionization was requested prior to
the vote. For instance, what are the conditions involved in strikes and how
would seniority be considered? Another consideration that was brought up was
a situation in Earth Sciences, where undergraduate TAs are hired to
compensate for the expense of graduate students; would undergraduate bodies
need to be included in discussions? For a union to be successful, strong
bargaining skills are required. Given student turnover, how do we ensure that
these skills are cultivated and maintained? The process of tracking hours at
institutions with graduate student unions is unclear; at one school, a TA would
work for another course if they were drastically under-working. The union could
discuss these details if voted through.
 Motion to extend the meeting by 5 minutes (Yeung/Robbins). Approved.
Council discussed overlap between the the GSA and a union, as well as the
benefits and consequences of having a union versus pursuing alternative
solutions as the GSA stands now. If a union advocated for greater pay rates,
could it be expected that UWaterloo decrease funding packages as a result? It
is possible that decreases in funding are made to those outside the union, but
examples from other institutions demonstrate that this is not always the case.
Motion for the Council to hold an e-vote on January 23 rd starting at 12pm,
which will be open to councilors for 24 hours (Beaudry/Sargent). Vote
(y/n/a) 18-0-3. Motion approved.
8. Adjournment 6:30
Meeting adjourned at 6:30