5,348 homecoming fans cheered on the McMaster weekend win. Sports, B7
McMASTER UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER / THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009
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CUPE, Mac prepare for potential strike
VOLUME 80, NO. 11
Audit reveals record loss
MSU deficit of $365,089 marks 2008/09 as greatest loss in the union’s history
SELMA AL-SAMARRAI SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
The looming potential of a CUPE 3906 Unit 1 strike is prompting preparation by the University administration and the union, as the union moves into a legal strike position on Oct. 31. Andrea Farquhar, director of public and government relations, explained that the University Administration has been taking contingency measures to prepare for the potential strike, “We’ve been working on continuity planning since last spring for a number of possible disruptions, CAW negotiations, post-doctoral fellow negotiations, H1N1 pandemic and CUPE negotiations so our preparations are for any of these… For CUPE [3906] we’re trying to ensure with faculty members what their roles are, what they need to think about and all of those sort of things to make sure they’re prepared to communicate with students. I think it’s really incumbent on the University to ensure they’re prepared and unfortunately when you’re in labour talks you need to be prepared for possibility of a strike.” A small protest held by the Undergraduate Support Committee on the afternoon of Wed. Oct. 28 was aimed at the purpose of criticizing the University Administration’s manner of handling the negotiations with the CUPE 3906 union. Alexander Ramirez, a protest participant and a third year Political Science and Labour studies student who established the Undergraduate Support Committee alongside other Labour Studies students explained, “The majority of students have no idea what’s going on, I have personally handed
Vice president (finance) Andrew Caterine answers questions on the record setting loss. The top graph outlines the surpluses / deficits since 1979, while the bottom graph shows how Quarters / Twelve-Eighty has amounted $1.25 million in losses since opening in 2002. JEFF GREEN
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
The McMaster Students’ Union suffered the largest deficit in their history with the MSU budget ending the 2008/09 year with a staggering loss of $365,089. This occurred despite assurances by then vice president (finance) Ian Finlay in January who described the budget as “healthy” and that, “it is my expectation to have a balanced budget or a small net surplus at the conclusion of the fiscal year.” Since 1979, deficits have only occurred four times, including the 2008/09 year. Besides this year’s • PLEASE SEE LOOMING, A3 loss and the $241,000 loss from the
2007/08 year, the only other losses since 1979 were $27,508 from the 1999/2000 year and $40,341 from the 2001/02. In 2006/07, the MSU ran a surplus of $404,403. The last two years have seen a total of $597,395 in operating losses. “Ombuds, Marmor and Quarters, now named TwelveEighty, were the three major factors and those account for almost 600,000-700,000 dollars of the losses to the organization” said MSU vice-president (finance) Andrew Caterine. Following the MSU not paying Ombuds for the past two years, the audit revealed an extra $100,000 in back payments to the
Ombuds office, which the MSU shares its payment in with the university. Other highlights include the $204,496 loss from the Marmor. Though no Marmor yearbook was released in the 2007/08 year, the Marmor still incurred a loss of $75,129. The yearbook’s 2008/09 loss of $204,496 was attributed to printing back issues, but Caterine could not say what the losses came from, responding, “I would defer you to the Marmor executive editor who is the expert.” Caterine continued, “The vp finance portfolio is not to micromanage each particular service.”
Quarters, now named Twelve-Eighty, was also a major factor in the record-setting loss. In January, then vice-president (finance) Ian Finlay said, “This year [Quarters / Twelve-Eighty] should be in a much healthier state than last.” In 2008/09, the campus bar lost $376,556. Current vice-president (finance) Andrew Caterine continued, “I can’t speak on Mr. Finlay’s behalf… but what I do know is based on our figures thus far we have seen a successful profit during the month of September [of Twelve-Eighty] which we did not see last year.” • PLEASE SEE MSU, A5
Budget negotiations for HSR begin LILY PANAMSKY
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) and Disabled and Aged Regional Transportation (DARTS) are to reach a decision on Oct. 29 regarding possible fare hikes and service cuts. The city of Hamilton will propose its 2010 budget for the next four months, and the Committee of the Whole is the first meeting to discuss the public transit budget and
user fees on Oct. 29. The current adult monthly pass is $79.00, and the student pass—which is included in McMaster student fees—is $102.70. A 10 per cent increase for student passes is already established for the 2010-2011 school year. HSR Director Don Hull stated that a “reasonable” fare increase and service “rationalizations” will be proposed, according to the Ancaster News. If a 10 per cent HSR
increase were to occur, monthly adult passes would become $84, and the student passes $117.60— an increase of $8.4 per student, excluding the established 10 per cent increase. If, however, adult passes were to increase by 20 per cent, the corresponding increase in student passes would be $123.20— an additional $8.8 hike. An outlook on the budget released in July indicated that HSR maintenance and running costs were to increase by at least $1.1 million in 2010. Ridership and revenue levels for 10 of Canada’s largest urban transit systems, which represent approximately 80 per cent of total urban transit, were down by 1.8 per cent in August. Revenue has decreased 0.9 per cent from August 2008 to $191.4 million, excluding subsidies. The last negotiations to take place were in November 2008, when a five-dollar increase was proposed for adult and student passes, and a 0.10-dollar increase for general tickets. A vote was taken, and Council narrowly rejected the proposal Final approval for the 2010 budget calls is on Feb. 23, 2010, Listed above are the annual changes of the MSU Bus Pass Fees, starting with public delegations set for Jan. from 2001 until the current academic year. 12, 2010.
BAHRAM DIDEBAN/ MANAGING EDITOR
Andy reviews the top-ten most disturbing movies of all times. Andy, C6-7
Inside the Sil this week
Board of Governors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A3 Feature: College post-university . . . . . . . .A4 McMaster Innovation Park . . . . . . . . . . . .A5 Susan Farley Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A5
Fashion Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 New Engineering Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3 Climate Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Basketball Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7
Soccer Playoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 Mash-up Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C5 Lemonwilde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C8 Mantracker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C10