The Simon Fraser University Student Society battle against a greedy union continues

Back in July, I wrote about the stand Simon Fraser University's Student Society took against its so-called Public Interest Research Group (Self-Interested Marxist Propaganda Bureau is usually a better description for Canadian university "Public Interest" Research Groups that extract student funds to pay themselves as they engage in fanatical anti-Western activism), that resulted in a lock out and eviction of CUPE employees.

The Peak, SFU's student paper, published an editorial by the Student Society's Kyle Acierno this week about the ongoing dispute. CUPE seems to want to gouge the students of SFU for their own benefit. Who would have believed that a public service union would do that, eh?

From Acierno's editorial:

Most employers (like, say, the Canadian government) hire professionals to bargain collective agreements with unions so that there is a fair result for the employer and the employee. The case of the Simon Fraser Student Society, however, is different. In the past we haven’t had trained professionals to bargain agreements, we have had students with little or no experience thrown against the massive CUPE union.

What is the result? Well, it’s obvious: an agreement that heavily favours the union and gives close to half of the society’s money to pay 16 staff people.

Please remember that as a student elected to represent and work for students, I also share responsibility for running a $1.7 million operating budget. We must make the best fiscal decisions for the society. When we have a deficit of $800,000, is it right to pay all of our permanent employees over $30 an hour?

When we are forced to slash funding for all of our clubs and departmental student unions (such as the Economics Student Union which was cut from $1200 to $700 to $300), is it fair to pay our few student employees $21.64 an hour? When we can no longer afford bursaries that assist dozens of students in desperate financial need, like the $10,000 bursary contribution that is doubled by the government, should we not be looking for ways to solve our financial problems?

The quick and easy answer from most people supporting the union is to raise fees — charge the students more! The fact is that if we raised student fees to increase revenue by $20,000, we would only barely cover the average raises these employees receive each and every year! The following year we would be back asking for your money again. More money — not to provide extra service, to have more events, or to give back to you, but to pay for raises we are contractually forced to give.

Our answer to this dilemma: Why not make better use of the money that we already collect? Why not work to get a fair deal for students?

Simon Fraser University strikes a blow against fanatical, undemocratic national student union

What do university students get for being in the Canadian Federation of Students?

From the sounds of things, not much, other than the opportunity to have part of their tuition fees used to subsidize a few radical causes and the activists who want to use other people's money to push their own political agenda (and enjoy a few expense-paid trips and make a few buck on the side at the same time).

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) uses money they take away from students, which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars per university, to support radical, divisive issues along with the Public Interest Research Groups at Universities, which has a fetish for some of history's most prolific mass-murderers.  These issues or affiliations include the anti-Semitic Israeli Apartheid Week, anti-Semitism directed at Jewish student organizations, a violent activist group called The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), and the radical leadership of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, to name but a few.

The radical student organizations benefit from knowing that most students are too busy going through university  trying to get an education (and get laid) to scrutinize their tuition fees line by line.

But at a few universities, the student bodies have caught on and are fighting back and have held referendum to de-certify the CFS. Concordia,  Guelph and the University of Victoria have all voted, overwhelmingly, against continuing their membership in CFS.In each case, the CFS has not respected the democratic outcome and have tried to fight these decisions in court. They have lost, but those court battles to impose themselves where they aren't wanted are being paid for with student fees they take from other universities.

Simon Fraser University is the latest institute to have fought back against the CFS. They voted to get out of the CFS and are facing an ongoing lawsuit by the national student union to bleed money from the school. In fighting the democratic decision of Simon Fraser's student body, the CFS has demonstrated that their only concern is self-interest, which is of little surprise, given where their support is based. In Simon Fraser's case, they've also had the foresight to evict their Public Interest Research Group from the premises.

Students across the country need to become more aware of how their student funds are being used. Like any other union, the CFS, whose leadership works in self-serving partnerships with public service unions, isn't fighting for students as much as the right of a select few to choose how to blow some student money.

(and make dumb videos)

How much Jew hate can you fit into a room at one time?

How much Jew hate can you fit into a room at one time?

A group of radicals at Simon Fraser University may provide the answer when Omar "F*ck Canada Day" Chabban and Jenny "Hate Thesis" Peto compete with each other to see who is the biggest Israel hater on February 12.

Along for comic relief will be someone called Brian Campbell of something called "The Seriously Free Speech Committee" who has a big fan over at anti-Semitic blog Northerntruthseeker.

The three will no doubt complain about how they are the victims of "censorship" and "repression" because they are routinely ridiculed.