Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Minutes

Big Red Barn Greenhouse November 25, 2002 5:30–6:30 p.m. Attendance: 2002–2003 GPSA Members 8/26 9/30 10/21 11/25 1/27 2/24 3/24 4/21 Shaffique Adam P P P P Daniel Dadoyan P A A P Gerod Hall P P P P Gavin Hurley P P P P Lauren Mangiola P P P P Kurt Massey A P P P Timothy McConnochie P P P P Andrew Miller A P P A Joan Moriarty P P P P Bryan Preston P A P P Daniela Raik P P P E David Schmale III P P P P Andrew Schpak P P P P Nab Sharif A P P P Ariana Vigil A P P P Robb Willer P P A P Heather Wynder A P A P Others present: J. Sebastian; D. Toomey; A. Azuma; L. Sekaric; C. Taylor; S. Flaxman; M. Tews; F. Maduka; G. Cui; P. McPheron; T. Tsuei; T. Bishop

I. Call to Order J. Moriarty called the meeting to order at 5:35.

II. Approval of Minutes The minutes of October 21, 2002 were unanimously approved.

III. Committee Reports A) GPSAFC R. Willer said that they are doing a good job and are having fun and the usual is going on. There is a committee member that is unknown and they are delegating L. Mangiola to figure out the name of the unknown committee member. The next meeting is on December 9 after the COR meeting.

B) G. Hurley, J. Moriarty, G. Hall, V. Augusta and others met with Lynette Chappelle-Williams about the childcare issue. G. Hurley said that a twin track needs to be taken. There will be a meeting in December to set up focus groups and garner opinions. V. Augusta has ideas about childcare. The current Monday-Friday, 9:00–5:00 model is not working because not everybody’s schedules is like that. They are looking for alternatives. If you have any comments, contact Virginia.

IV. Business of the Day A) Dental Coverage The resolution submitted by G. Hurley, J. Moriarty and R. Willer was passed out and then G. Hurley read the resolution. He said that this resolution is a blueprint for how to attack issues like this. However, there have been two concerns: references to CASE/UAW and the singling out of dental care. In regards to CASE/UAW, he wanted to emphasize that “and other interested parties” is included in the resolution, indicating that they are open to everybody being important. CASE/UAW have accumulated a lot of information so it is prudent to take advantage of that. He commended CASE/UAW for their work. In regards to singling out dental care as the issue of choice, it was chosen because it was the most consensus issue. While the childcare issue is important, it is not a universal issue that affects all grad students. In addition, dental care appears to be feasible and achievable. It doesn’t seem very expensive and students will be able to show support through petitioning because it is a universal benefit.

Resolution to establish Pay and Benefits Committee

Whereas, the GPSA is committed to improving the pay and benefits of Cornell graduate and professional students and the GPSA recognizes dental care coverage as one of these improvements; and

Whereas, the current student health insurance plan does not provide substantial coverage for dental-related care and this lack of provision affects a large proportion of the graduate and professional student population; and

Whereas, the benefits to all graduate and professional students, like all individuals, of regular dental visits and the prompt treatment of dental-related ailments is in the best interest of said students’ health and well-being and is consistent with the importance of preventative medical care; and

Whereas, the GPSA recognizes the importance of having the voices of graduate and professional students solicited in the determination of how best to provide dental coverage; and

Whereas, the GPSA recognizes the ongoing work of CASE/UAW on this issue including the passage of a resolution on November 19 in support of exploring the need for and feasibility of university-provided dental care;

Be it therefore resolved, that the GPSA establish a committee, the Pay and Benefits Committee, to examine this issue, working in partnership with CASE/UAW and other interested parties; and

Be it further resolved, that this committee be charged with researching dental care options, designing a questionnaire to survey graduate and professional student needs and drafting a petition to be circulated campus-wide with the view to presenting a formal request to the University at a later date; and

Be it further resolved, that the GPSA intends to examine other pay and benefits concerns in the future.

Respectfully Submitted,

Gavin Hurley GPSA Vice President

Joan Moriarty GPSA President

Robb Willer GPSAFC Chair

J. Moriarty added that the University of Michigan covers more than just TA’s and RA’s and we need to explore that. The opting in and opting out issue also needs to be explored.

K. Massey said that another issue that needs to be explored is professional students having to pay for their insurance as opposed to fully funded grad students who don’t need to. He also asked how will adding additional coverage affect this?

J. Moriarty asked if he was including language?

K. Massey said that the issue of overall insurance coverage is too great for this resolution, but he agrees with the resolution.

T. McConnochie asked if the faculty and staff have coverage?

J. Moriarty said that faculty have a buy-in plan and unionized staff have dental coverage.

T. McConnochie asked if this was before or after tax?

J. Moriarty said she doesn’t know.

S. Adam said he disagrees with the resolution and is unhappy about the singling out of dental care. He had a meeting with Dean Power and it was said that they have leverage in increasing insurance benefits. He said he wanted to introduce his own resolution. It does not contradict the Moriarty/Hurley/Willer resolution. His resolution just allows more flexibility. It allows for the procurement of something other than dental coverage if that is what the students want. The resolution also goes along with the timeline of the other resolution. Resolution

Whereas, the GPSA is committed to improving the quality of life for Graduate and Professional Students; and

Whereas, the recent unionization drive spearheaded by CASE/UAW has brought to light some of the inadequacies of the benefits provided to Graduate and Professional Students;

Be it Therefore Resolved, that the GPSA create the Pay and Benefits Committee whose charge it will be to solicit broad range opinion regarding pay and benefits of Graduate and Professional Students;

Be It Further Resolved, that this committee will report its findings to the GPSA by the March meeting, at which time the GPSA leadership will present a formal request to the University administration for those improvements outlined in the report;

Be It Further Resolved, that the aforementioned Pay and Benefits Committee be a permanent committee of the GPSA with six Graduate and Professional Student members appointed by the GPSA, and whose charge will include working collaboratively with all interested parties.

Respectfully Submitted,

Shaffique Adam Physical Sciences

B. Preston asked what is the nature of the conversation since 2 resolutions are being simultaneously introduced?

J. Moriarty said they should consider amendments to the first resolution, and maybe incorporate some of S. Adam’s stuff into it.

B. Preston said he would like to applaud the spirit of both resolutions. He is curious to hear the defense of the resolutions. He is concerned about the political ramifications of language of how CASE/UAW is used in the involvement.

G. Hurley said that in addressing dental care being singled out, the last clause says there is an intention of exploring other options. They wanted to choose one specific issue to test how to explore issues like these in the future. A questionnaire can ask if dental coverage is wanted. A timeline constraint is why they are choosing a single issue. Dental is a prudent test subject since it affects everybody. In regards to CASE/UAW involvement, if this is perceived as a CASE/UAW process, then it will weaken it but it will be a strong process if we use their resources.

J. Moriarty said that the process started immediately after the losing vote. A survey can address what issue people want dealt with. Having a focus will organize the process better. Cards were passed out as surveys and 60% of students said that dental/optical was the most important issue to them.

L. Mangiola asked what were the other issues?

J. Moriarty said pay, health care and grievance procedures were some of the other issues.

R. Willer asked if S. Adam’s resolution is intended to compete with or complement the first resolution?

S. Adam said his resolution will give life to the committee. Then the committee can choose if they want dental to be the issue. He is opposed to the other resolution focusing on dental. In addition, this committee will be a standing committee, not an ad hoc.

J. Moriarty said they didn’t want to put it as a permanent committee because that would require a charter change.

N. Sharif asked if either committee had been formed?

J. Moriarty said no.

K. Massey said that he feels the faster and more specific the resolution is, the better. He feels S. Adam’s resolution is too general and the Hurley/Moriarty/Willer resolution gives the initial process and is important.

G. Hall said he thinks petitioning is better than surveying because while you petition, you can incorporate a survey.

S. Adam said the committee will decide the best way of surveying. His resolution is a reaction to the other resolution. He believes grassroots is better than the top down way.

B. Preston asked if there was no mention of CASE/UAW in the resolution, would it weaken the resolution? He is concerned about the politically charged tone of the resolution.

R. Willer said that CASE/UAW has a lot of resources to offer and that they do not want to not credit people if the labor is to be divided.

B. Preston asked if not specifying CASE/UAW would reduce their willingness to help?

R. Willer said he doesn’t think so.

J. Moriarty said that it is good to pair up because not every CoR member does a good job of communicating with constituents and that some departments do not have representation. The fair thing to do is to credit people for the work they do.

B. Preston said he believes that credit should be given after success, not before. He is concerned and worried because people voted no for unionization not because of unionizing but because of CASE/UAW. He doesn’t want to see the effort for coverage be undermined due to people’s disdain for CASE/UAW.

R. Willer said that if the intention is to work with case, then they should recognize them.

D. Schmale said that they should focus that CASE has already done a lot of work and he doesn’t see it as having a negative connotation. He agrees with Kurt’s comments about going forward and charter changes would take too long. Nobody will complain about getting dental and he encouraged people to pass the first resolution.

H. Wynder said she likes having a focus and wants vision to be included but she is still willing to vote yes. The problem is the inclusion of CASE/UAW. 70% of students said they didn’t want that association and we should pay attention to that. She sees it as contradictory to the democratic process.

T. McConnochie said that in regards to CASE/UAW, he thinks they should leave credit in the resolution because the work has already been done. The focus should be on working with all interested parties. He thinks they should pass both resolutions in first having an ad hoc committee and then seeing if it needs to be a permanent committee. He doesn’t see the two resolutions to be contradictory.

F. Maduka asked what is the timeline?

G. Hurley said that research should be done by January. The request to the University should be made by the end of Spring.

J. Moriarty said that this is not about CASE/UAW representation. They are giving recognition to two groups that are making things happen. The spirit is partnership. They can accelerate the timeline due to CASE/UAW’s man/woman power.

G. Hurley said that they are being used as political leverage in that it will make the administration more likely to listen by including CASE/UAW.

R. Willer said that they shouldn’t focus on groups that lost collective bargaining rights. He is not opposed to doing both resolutions because he believes that they can co-exist. He would choose the dental resolution because it is more specific and he wants the GPSA to be active.

A. Vigil said that mentioning CASE/UAW appears to be innocuous. Working with CASE/UAW is already happening (on the GPSA) and they should face facts. She doesn’t believe in the existence of deception.

A. Schpak said that he doesn’t want to see optical being left out and he is pro ad hoc. He is concerned about the information CASE/UAW has because it may not apply to current constituents. He advocates changing the language in the resolutions and agrees with Tim and Brian in keeping CASE/UAW out.

H. Wynder said that including the Nov. 19 resolution reference makes the GPSA looks like they are parroting CASE/UAW. Her reservations are strengthened and she is afraid that CASE/UAW will establish guidelines for GPSA in the future. It is an indirect way of representing students.

S. Adam said that the charter says we can form standing committees without a charter change.

D. Dadoyan said that it appears to be only acknowledging CASE/UAW in the resolution. He said let’s have interested parties come forward.

H. Wynder moved that they go over the resolutions clause by clause.

6Y-5N, the motion passes.

S. Adam asked if we can agree that dental is the most important priority?

A. Schpak said he suggests adding “optical”.

H. Wynder said add “and vision” instead of a “/” because that could be perceived as either/or.

T. McConnochie said he doesn’t feel strongly about adding vision because it is a separate issue. Catastrophic dental care is very expensive, and catastrophic vision care is already covered.

H. Wynder said that this resolution is binding only in saying that they will be looking; it doesn’t say that they need to support it.

A motion to call to question was made and passed.

The resolution was gone through clause by clause with many changes including the addition of ‘optical’, the removal of the reference to CASE/UAW’s resolution, the introduction of a clause commending CASE/UAW’s work on the issue and adding that the GPSA will appoint the chair of the committee.

Passed Resolution to establish Pay and Benefits Committee

Passed Resolution to establish Pay and Benefits Committee

Whereas, the GPSA is committed to improving the pay and benefits of Cornell graduate and professional students and the GPSA recognizes dental and vision coverage as two of these improvements; and

Whereas, the current student health insurance plan does not provide substantial coverage for dental- and vision-related care and this lack of provision affects a large proportion of the graduate and professional student population; and

Whereas, the benefits to all graduate and professional students of dental and vision coverage is in the best interest of said students’ health and well-being and is consistent with the importance of preventative medical care; and

Whereas, the GPSA recognizes the importance of having the voices of graduate and professional students solicited in the determination of how best to provide dental and vision coverage; and

Whereas, the GPSA recognizes the work of CASE/UAW in identifying dental and vision coverage as a priority for graduate students;

Be it therefore resolved, that the GPSA establish a committee, the Pay and Benefits Committee, to examine this issue, working in partnership with all interested parties and whose chair is appointed by the GPSA; and

Be it further resolved, that this committee be charged with researching dental and vision coverage options, designing a questionnaire to survey graduate and professional student needs and drafting a petition to be circulated campus-wide in partnership with CASE/UAW and other interested parties with the view to presenting a formal request to the University at a later date; and

Be it further resolved, that the GPSA Pay and Benefits committee intends to examine other pay and benefits concerns in the future.

Respectfully Submitted,

Gavin Hurley GPSA Vice President

Joan Moriarty GPSA President

Robb Willer GPSAFC Chair

B) Social Activities Update L. Mangiola outlined her plans for the holiday can drive. She will distribute boxes, bags and fliers to the COR members at the meeting on December 9th. These will be collected on December 19th. She asked that people still in town help her collect the boxes. She requested $12 to print the fliers.

This was approved unanimously. L. Mangiola then described work she has done on organizing free ice time for graduate students at Lynah Rink. This will take place on January 17, 7:00 — 9:00 pm. The rink costs $125 an hour to rent and the GPSA will also provide hot beverages and food. Lauren asked for $350 to pay for two hours of ice time, the refreshments and publicity.

This was approved unanimously.

Finally, L. Mangiola said that the Big Red Barn was booked from 6pm on December 9th and that therefore her idea of having a COR party then was not feasible. She thinks we should still do this in the Spring semester.

VI. Adjournment

A motion was made to adjourn.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted, Tyng Tsuei

Office of the Assemblies