2 new members join Saskatoon Co-op board during tension-filled meeting

Saskatoon Co-op’s annual general meeting on Thursday drew a record number of members who elected two new members to the company’s board of directors.

Nathan Holowaty was re-elected, while two new seats were filled by Erika Ritchie and Mary Carroll Chubb.

Ritchie and Chubb are both members of the “Co-op Members for Fairness,” a grassroots group which has pushed for democratic member control and reform of the Co-op.

After a strike that lasted more than five months, emotions ran high during the four-hour meeting at TCU Place.

The more-than 1,000 members in attendance did not hold back, peppering leadership on a range of questions related to wages, the strike and the company’s future.

Tough questions, some answers

Prior to the release of the election, there was a question-and-answer period that lasted just under an hour and a half.

This Q&A session has more become a session of statements. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does show how the strike impacted everyone around and in the cooperative.

Three words being thrown around in countless speeches..

“Accountability, family, and community.” #yxe

— brady lang (@BradyLangSK) June 21, 2019

Questions were raised on the two-tier structure for employee pay, plastics, online streaming and voting and what’s next for the co-operative.

Leila White was one long-time member who voiced her grievances with the board.

“I was really disappointed in how the executive of the Co-op responded to questions asked to him. He refused to answer questions such as ‘How much (did) the strike cost?’ He didn’t know the decline in membership,” she said.

White said members of the executive didn’t have an answer for her on their salaries, and whether they’d be “cut the same percentage” as union members.

“It goes against all of what our Co-op values,” she said.

A battle of bylaws

Before the night had begun, there was drama unfolding within TCU Place.

A battle between members nearly changed the chair of the meeting, with motions to remove president of the Co-op board of directors, Grant Whitmore, from the podium.

This prompted the book of bylaws to come out, and have the board looking for answers to whether this type of action was even feasible.

The motion failed, and the meeting was allowed to proceed.

Financials

Tensions carried over into the financial portion of the meeting.

Whitmore again faced jeers from the crowd while presenting the company’s financials.

Multiple questions following the financial report. Board is trying to get on with the elections, but the members simply aren’t letting them do so.

“I’m just trying to conduct an orderly meeting.” — Grant Whitmore

— brady lang (@BradyLangSK) June 21, 2019

The number that drew big reaction was the $4.2 million less the company spent on staff in the last fiscal year.

Members again voiced their displeasure, and asked whether the numbers included employees who worked in place of the striking employees.

After going back and forth in a heated discussion, it was released that those numbers reflected that any employee who worked under the “Co-op uniform” was included in the number.