ASMSU President Evan Martinak was notified at the end of August that ASMSU’s business office manager position was being changed to an AP-10 union position.

“There is no guarantee that ASMSU will be able to, in essence, re-hire its own current employee,” Martinak said. “Obviously this means that our employee’s future employment at ASMSU is in serious jeopardy.”

The change to an AP-10 union would open the position and give priority to MSU union employees because of a ranking system, Chester said.

“Early this summer I was assured that the university was working with their HR department to make me a permanent MSU employee so that I could remain working here at ASMSU,” Chester said. “It came as something of a jolt to learn just recently that, in fact, the job has been given a union ranking and is being posted for MSU union employees, who have priority, to apply.”

In a meeting held with university officials, including Vice President for Student Affairs and Services Denise Maybank and MSU’s Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Mark Haas, Martinak said it was agreed that the position will remain as an independent contractor. Maybank could not to be reached to specify the details behind why the position will be changed.

“ASMSU would, once again, no longer be in control of its employee, job description, supervisory oversight, pay, day-to-day responsibilities,” Martinak said, describing the university’s decision as “demonstrating broad and excessive power over ASMSU’s operations.”

MSU spokesman Jason Cody said the university still is working with the undergraduate student government to ensure the organization meets the school’s codes in certain areas.

“MSU leaders are continuing to have conversations with ASMSU leaders on making the appropriate changes to align their practices and policies with university protocol,” Cody said.

ASMSU elected to move funds on campus after receiving a memorandum from Haas and Maybank on April 23 giving ASMSU an ultimatum to transfer all of its funds on campus before July 1 or risk losing its $18 per student per semester tax.

“The reason material weaknesses were identified in audits pre-2011 were a result of a series of accounting errors made by a university employee who was forced upon ASMSU,” Martinak said.

He said the university previously had agreed in 2009 to hire a full-time business office manager as an independent contractor, not a student nor a university employee.

“It’s apparent that we don’t have much choice in this matter, let alone much say in how ASMSU should exist in the future,” Martinak said. “We will continue to demand that the university work with us to see this transition through.”