TAs ON STRIKE, BUT WE'RE STILL GRADING, PAGES 8 & 24
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STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE: THE MCGILLTRIBUNE, PAGE 20
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Volume 27 Issue 27 • April 8, 2008
T rib p h o to h ig h lig h ts
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s trik e to d a y Negotiations break down K en S un Effective today at 12:01 a.m., teaching assistants of the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill will be on strike, after negotiations with the McGill administration this past Saturday and Monday deteriorated. AGSEM Vice-President External Nata lie Kouri-Towe pointed to a general lack in response from the negotiators represent ing McGill as the final decision to strike. "There has been an overall lack of movement from McGill," Kouri-Towe said. Last Thursday, Deputy Provost Stu dent Life and Learning Morton Mendel son, who is not involved in the negotia tions but speaks for the university, sent a McGill-wide e-mail detailing that "various measures will be taken to maintain nor mal functioning of the University." Prior to the weekend negotiations, Mendelson and Robert Comeau, director of Employee Relations at McGill and head of the McGill bargaining delegation, had been optimis tic about coming to an agreement. Despite assertions from the AGSEM bargaining committee and the executive that the administration has been unwill ing to comply with their demands or make any effort to seek common ground,
both Mendelson and Comeau assert that McGill's negotiators have worked to seek common ground. "We made some agreements; we agreed on training sessions for the TAs," Comeau said. "One thing we do not agree on is their salary demands." At the core of the conflict between the TA union and the administration is the debate over wages. McGill TAs, on aver age, are paid $22.24 per hour, and AGSEM has been asking for a wage increase to $31.50, or 41 per cent, a level that would make McGill TAs'wages competitive with the top 13 research-intensive universities in Canada, commonly known as the G13. However, the administration has stood fast by a 2 per cent raise per year, to $24.03 by 2011. "McGill TAs are the best paid TA's in Quebec," Mendelson said, adding that a wage increase of 41 per cent is "totally un acceptable" and an "unjustified amount of money." According to Mendelson, McGill ran a $i5-million deficit last year, and in con junction with the Quebec government, agreed to eliminate that deficit in three years. See WAGES on page 4
BoG ratifies Plan New policies guide changes T heo M eyer & V incci T sui McGill's Board of Governors ap proved the new Physical Master Plan of Planning and Design Principles at a meet ing in the University Club last night with little debate.The approved portion estab lished yesterday is only half of what will comprise the final Master Plan. "There will be another document called the Demonstration Plan and to
gether these will form the Master Plan," said François Roy, McGill vice-principal administration and finance. The 75-page document establishes policies to guide the university's planning process, including specific recommenda tions on preserving and expanding ex isting green space, preserving heritage buildings, reducing the number of ve hicles on the downtown campus and enSee CURRENT on page 5
The Tribune presents a selected showcase of the year's top photos. See pages 16 and 17 for more.
A P R IL SA LE $10 O N A L L T-SHIRTS M cG ill ATHLETICS
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