Absences:

• Excused: None

I. New Delegate Orientation

New Delegate Orientation was held immediately before the start of the meeting. New delegates received their binders and learned about CGS operations and procedures, including Robert's Rules of Order

II. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 3:49pm, Barbara Pletz, President, presiding.

III. Approval of Minutes

Motion by Delegate Evans to approve minutes from the 6 August 2004 meeting was seconded by Chair Gray and motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

IV. Elections

Following brief introductions from Vice President Baack, Delegates Jessica Lucas (Biosciences), Ida Abdelkhani (Business) Scott Pearson (FAES & Human Ecology), Kathleen Pierce (Social and Behavioral Sciences) and Kirsten Rahall (Interdisciplinary) were elected to the Research Graduate Council with no objection to consent.

Delegates James Anderson (Business) and Robert Crawford (Professional and Biological Sciences) were elected to Senate with no objection to consent.

Vice President Baack announced that we still need representatives from FAES and Humanities for Senate and from Arts, MAPS, and an at-large member for the Research Graduate Coucil. Intersted delegates should contact VP Baack(.4)

IV. Old Business

No old business was raised or discussed.

V. New Business

Delegate Lucas moved that the body consider Resolution 0405-AU-006: To Support Graduate Employees. This motion to hear the resolution was seconded by Delegate Lupo.

Rationale

Delegate Lucas presented a brief summary of the resolution to the body. She stated that that this quarter GESO has started a unionization card drive. Although CGS represents all graduate students, a big part of our consituents are student employees. These employees need more protection than CGS can provide. CGS should support GESO's unionization efforts if a majority of the union cards get signed.

Questions for the author Note: These are not necessarily direct quotations of speaking members. Rather, they are intended to capture the spirit of the questions and answers.

Does the University have to recognize the Union? No. The University is not obligated by state law to recognize the union.

President Emeritus Cormier: How many cards do you need? GESO needs 2351 out of 4700 graduate student employees, but they are aiming for 3000 signed cards.

Unknown Delgate: Does GESO have any indications (survey, etc) how many students are willing to sign? in GESO's survey, 85% of about a quarter of students indicated that they would sign a card.

Unknown Delgate: What other reasons are there for supporting unionization? Unionization will raise the bar for all graduate students.

Delegate Corwin: In the last whereas, you say this is the only way. Why is it the only way? It's the only way because it will be legally binding.

Delegate Corwin: Are you contending then that the administration is already unwilling (referencing CGS resolution)? Yes. I would say it is, this is the only legally binding way.

President Emeritus Depelteau moved to extend the question and answer period by 5 minutes. This motion was seconded by Delegate Eggleston and the yeas carried the vote.

Chair Fout: I'd just like to clarify the language here. Graduate students are not University employees, correct? Until last year, graduate students were considered employees. That's what it said in the handbook. We do something. In exchange, we get paid. Therefore we're employees.

President Emeritus Depelteau: Do these numbers represent GAs then? Or do they include other graduate students? What's the breakdown? I don't have those numbers with me, but I can get them for you.

Treasurer Hodak: Can you tell me more about the survey you talked about earlier? How was it sampled and conducted? GESO members attempted to go wherever students were and asked as many as they could.

President Emeritus Cormier: This resolution refers specifically to student employees, even though state law specifically says that we're not? You're referring to House Bill 249? There's a bill in the house right now to reinstate our status as employees. It has pretty strong support. It's being sponsored by Senator Straehorn (Democrat)

Delegate Eggleston: In the 3rd whereas, you say that graduate student unions have bettered the position of GAs Others suggest not though. Do you have evidence for this claim? Well, graduate employees negotiate the union contract and it has to be ratified by a majority of the members. Students wouldn't vote for it, if it wasn't better, right? Beyond that, in instituions with unions, their stipends have way increased. They have better working conditons - they have a say on the size of teaching sections, etc. They also have grievance procedures.

Delegate Corwin moves to postpone debate indefinitely - until GESO has a majority of union cards signed. President Emeritus Cormier seconds the motion.

Rationale

It's a premature resolution. We don't know if GESO will get a majority of union cards signed. And even if we pass this resolution we can reverse ourselves at any time. We just have to wait and see.

Questions for the author

Delegate Lucas: Don't you think CGS endorsement of the effort will help the card drive? I don't know.

Mr. Meagher: Does CGS have a current position? We do not have a position on unionization at this time.

Debate on the motion

Delgate Lupo moves to ammend the original motion. Move to postpone debate until next meeting. Vogel seconds the motion.

Rationale

This is the first meeting of the quarter and no one got these resolutions before 15 minutes ago. This seems controversial and so many of us are new. These are two really important resolutions that we have to carefully consider.

Debate on ammendment 1

Delegate Lucas: This is a relevant concern. We need to postpone until next time.

Treasurer Hodak: Regardless of time, it's inappropriate to pass these resolutions, or debate them unless a majority of students sign the cards.

Mr. Meagher: Would it be equally inappropriate to take position against unionization?

Delegate Lupo: If we don't have a position, it would be appropriate to take one at some point.

Treasurer Hodak: Originally, the position was for each delegate, and each graduate student, to take their own position. CGS wanted only to fulfill it's Constitutional obligation, and to allow graduate students to decide for themselves.

At this point, the May 2003 resolution on unionization was projected for delegates to read.

President Emeritus Cormier: I'm against suspending this until next meeting. Taking a position now suggets that we favor it. To endorse it now, without modifying our Constitution is the same as saying the the UK should come in and run the U.S.

Delegate Pepper: In the past three years, CGS had repeatedly stonewalled all of GESO's efforts. We should support them and I'd like to move the question.

Delegate Lupo seconded Pepper's motion. Motion carried by majority voice vote, and the question is moved (with ammendment to postpone until next meeting not until majority of cards are signed). 17 delegates in favor of postponing until next meeting. 14 delegates opposed, motion carried.
Resolution 0405-AU-007: Advocating for Graduate Associates

Rationale

President Emeritus Cormier presented a brief summary of the resolution to the body. He also shared his own personal experience, whereby he originally supported unionization, and would have worked with GESO. However, since that time he's been involved with CGS and seen the beneifts that CGS has obtained for graduate students. He said that CGS is doing the exact, perfect job advocating for graduate students, who have seen stellar improvements in compensation and benefits. Briggs also cited the 2003 Unionization report completed by CGS which suggested that the improvements made by CGS in the last three years are even better than those found at unionized schools.

Cormier said that unions can even be counterproductive. He asked delegates to imagine that their dissertation defense had to be postponed indefinitely because of a strike by unionized faculty. The possibility of striking is counter to educational purposes.
At this point, the 5 minutes for author's rationale expired. Chair Evans moved to grant Cormier an additional 5 minutes. Motion seconded by Delegate Smith, and motion carried with 2 opposing votes.
Cormier stated that endorsing a unionization effort is an abdication of the constitutional duty of CGS. It would require us to ammend the Constitution to include at least 2 ideas: CGS doesn't care about graduate associated and can't represent them and 2)We think another organization can advocate for GAs better than we can.

Cormier noted that the 2003 report suggests that we have higher wages and higher subsidy for health care here at OSU than at competing, unionized schools. Finally, the resolved clause suggests the spirit of the discussion for the previous resolution in that it specifically notes that CGS should not support unionization until and if the administration stops working with us.

Cormier finished by yielding his 5 minute question and answer period because he believed the resolution will ulimately be tabled and didn't see the point in entertaining questions on the motion at this time.

Delegate Pearson moves to postpone a decision on this resolution until the next meeting. His rationale is that it should be considered at the same time as the previous motion. This motion is seconded by Delegate Dennis.

Debate on motion to postpone

Mr. Meagher said that it's only fair there be time for questions

Delegate Lupo agreed. She had pressing questions that she'd like to raise.

Treasurer Hodak: There will be new questions from new delegates and they will benefit from these questions and discussions.

Delegate Dennis called the question. Delegate Pepper seconded, and motion carried by majority voice vote.

At this point, discussion turned to how procedure for the next meeting will work. Chair Gray pointed out that any questions will go in the minutes and would, therefore be available, at the next meeting. Treasurer Hodak responded that they would be, but not everyone will read them, and that as a point of order, the minutes are not official until approved at the following meeting.

Chair Evans asked that we organize the information gathering phase so that it will go smoothly. She asked who should be charged with gathering pro and con information for the delegates to consider before/at the next meeting.

Treasurer Hodak: The body can only charge Exec with gathering the information. While procedurally they could require the information by the next meeting that would be very difficult for Exec to do and so, as a courtesy, it should be pushed back at last two meetings and maybe longer.

Delegate Lucas suggested that this doesn't really seem fair (to charge Exec with gathering information) and that it would be more appropriate for she and Briggs to meet and get information together.

VII. Officer Reports