Notes from Council: Single-Source Cold Beverage Agreement plebiscite question approved

“Notes from Council” is The Gateway’s ongoing series of recaps of noteworthy items from Students’ Council meetings.

At the December 3 meeting of the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) Students’ Council, the Faculty of Agricultural, Life, and Environmental Sciences (ALES) Undergraduate Association (FAUnA) presented to council a Faculty Association Membership Fee (FAMF) proposal.

Council also approved a plebiscite question regarding a new Single-Source Cold Beverage Agreement (SSCBA).

Faculty of ALES Undergraduate Association presents FAMF proposal

Melody Wu, vice-president (finance) of FAUnA, presented a FAMF proposal for the upcoming year. 

FAUnA proposed a FAMF of $2 per on-campus student per fall and winter semester, with the option to opt-out. This FAMF would only apply to undergraduate students in the faculty of ALES. FAUnA’s goals for the FAMF are to increase the accessibility of their services and generate funding for larger-scale events, Wu said.

Vice-president (operations and finance) Levi Flaman questioned how FAUnA calculated the $2 amount, asking if it was “picked arbitrarily.” Wu said they chose a “random” amount of $2 as a smaller, manageable amount for students.

Board of Governors (BoG) Representative Adrien Lam asked if students who opt-out could still use FAUnA’s services. Wu confirmed that they would.

Board and committee business

Council first moved to approve the first principles of an amendment to the climate action policy. The motion was carried with 14 votes in favour, zero against, and three abstentions. The amendment adds Race to Zero to the UASU’s climate action policy. Race to Zero is an international program seeking universities to pledge their commitment to reach net zero emissions.

The motion to approve the first principles of the student employment policy was carried with 17 votes in favour, zero against, and zero abstentions. The policy addresses new student employment challenges and seeks to enhance student employment advocacy, vice-president (external) Abdul Abbasi said.

Council then moved to approve the SSCBA question drafted by the UASU Bylaw Committee. The current SSCBA between the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the university, and the UASU expires in June 2025. The SSCBA is a non-competition agreement. Per the agreement, the university and the UASU must ensure no competitor cold beverages are sold on campus. The plebiscite question asks if students would support a new SSCBA that aligns with the conditions of the prior agreement. The vendor for the new SSCBA has not been selected.

Abbasi asked if the plebiscite, if passed, would follow the UASU’s ethical business partners policy. Business councillor Owen Pasay said the policy will be considered when the vendor for the new SSCBA is selected.

“This is not a plebiscite question regarding a renewal with Coca-Cola. This is simply saying that we are going to renew the SSCBA, not selecting a specific vendor,” Pasay said.

The motion passed with nine votes in favour, one against, and six abstentions.

Council moved to approve the 2024 UASU and Student Involvement Endowment Fund (SIEF) audit. The motion was carried with 16 votes in favour.

“No matter of grave concern was communicated by our auditors. We have a clean bill of health,” arts councillor Nathan Thiessen said.

Additionally, the motions to approve the first principles of Bill 5 and Bill 6 were carried. Bill 5 aims to establish a duty of good faith and honesty for UASU electoral candidates. Bill 6 enforces that “a well-defined social media policy” is included in the nomination package, Pasay said.