Opinion

Picking up the SLAC

It's unfortunate the Student Labor Action Coalition has yet to see the error of its ways, as its referendum — which passed during the Associated Students of Madison election this month — has set a number of negative consequences into motion.

The referendum has effectively prohibited the Student Services Finance Committee from hearing or reviewing the budget proposals of university services — such as the student unions, UW Recreational Sports and University Health Services — that do not provide all of their employees, including limited-term employment positions, with a "living wage."

SLAC needs to realize it can't have its cake and eat it too. The organization succeeded in preventing SSFC from making recommendations to non-allocable segregated-fee budgets of university services that don't provide all of their employees with a wage of slightly more than $10 an hour. But SLAC is now complaining that students have less of a voice in the segregated-fee-distribution process.

If SLAC had allowed public discourse on this referendum before stealthily placing it on the ballot before the ASM election, the quandary SLAC and the student body currently find themselves in would have been made apparent before the referendum passed.

But SLAC also doesn't seem to understand that this referendum would likely increase segregated fees. If the wages of university employees — working for segregated-fee-funded university services — increase, the money must come from somewhere. And, last time we checked, the plentiful coffers SLAC seems to think are stashed away in Bascom Hall don't exist. Rather, the wallets of UW students will feel the pinch.

The Wisconsin Union is now considering options for raising money to increase the wages of its employees, and increasing segregated fees is indeed a viable alternative.

Nonetheless, the predicament SLAC has placed itself and the student body in tends to occur when novices play politics. SLAC was intent on making a political statement with the referendum, as it felt the university was replacing many unionized positions with limited-term employees. But it seemingly forgot the workings of student government and shared governance in the process. It also forgot about the student body.

It would seem that questions regarding the referendum's validity could easily be resolved in favor of SSFC and the student body by the ASM Student Judiciary. But we fear the student government's kangaroo has less regard for shared governance, student government bylaws or students' interests than SLAC.