A Statement of Solidarity

As it was announced by the FAUW President on Friday, November 10th, the FAUW Board voted to make the removal of our colleague, Dr. Su-Yin Tan, from the P76/77 Policy Development Committee (PDC) permanent. Lecturers Connect would like to issue a statement of solidarity with Dr. Tan who worked tirelessly over the last 8+ years to serve Lecturers, understand priorities of Lecturers, advocate for Lecturers, but most importantly improve Lecturer working conditions. We are pleased that the FAUW Board thanked Dr. Tan “for her years of service to the University of Waterloo community.”

Along with Dr. Tan another member of the PDC has been removed, namely the former FAUW President, Prof. Mary Hardy. While Prof. Hardy retired in July, she only got removed in November on the grounds that she is no longer a member of FAUW. This left Paul Wehr the only member of the original PDC that Lecturers approved when voting for Path Forward in October 2022. Back then “64% of lecturers participated in the online poll. Of those lecturers, 89% voted in favour of proceeding with the path forward (57% of all lecturers), 3% voted against, and 8% abstained.”

As for Dr. Tan, she was removed from the PDC due to “a conflict of interest between [her] roles as a FAUW PDC member and as a supporter of the creation of a Lecturers’ union outside of FAUW.” We do not share this viewpoint. We strongly believe that FAUW and Lecturers Connect have common goals in improving Lecturers working conditions, and should work together in achieving these goals. It is incorrect to state that Lecturers Connect aims to separate from FAUW for three reasons:

1. As per our Certification FAQ, there is a model that enables the future union “to maintain a close relationship with FAUW in the same way that Renison Association of Academic Staff (RAAS) does – e.g., through a service agreement and a non-voting position on the FAUW Board.”

2. The creation of a certified bargaining unit within a non-certified organization is not possible at the moment due to the fact that FAUW does not meet certain requirements. As it was explained in one of our previous blog posts, among other things, FAUW would have to undergo a governance review to enable it to be recognized under Canadian labour law. At the November 7th Town Hall, the FAUW President mentioned that neither the governance review nor a FAUW unionization drive are among FAUW’s top priorities.

3. Most importantly, Lecturers Connect is a democratic organization that puts opinions of its members at the front. It is up to the members to decide what unionization model is preferable to them. Until then, the organizers of the drive have the goal to educate future members about models available to them, their pros and cons, etc. Lecturers Connect is driven exclusively by Lecturers for Lecturers. If there is a model or format you would like to hear more about, please reach out!

With two members removed from the PDC, two members got added, and the newly formed PDC is currently in mediation. Our team wishes them success. Personalities aside, we would like to take this moment to remind you of two serious systemic issues that exist within FAUW. These issues affect the entire University of Waterloo faculty and not just Lecturers. They will not go away even when the updates to P76/77 are made.

Issue #1: power imbalance. Collegial governance works when the two parties agree. But what if they disagree? Is there really any way to influence the employer? Unfortunately, FAUW has little to no leverage in this. We do not have a collective agreement or regular cycles of bargaining. We are not protected by the Ontario Labour Relations Act (OLRA). As a consequence, the employer may postpone deadlines over and over (hence 8.5+ years of P76/77) or retract promises they’ve made (as was done with the December 2021 memo). As a result, fatigue accumulates, members become politically disengaged, and FAUW has no choice but to make significant concessions. In this environment, nothing is binding, even the mediation/arbitration process that we are currently in is susceptible to change.

Issue #2: close ties between FAUW and Administration. FAUW and University Administration are strongly tied together. Even on the FAUW side of the current PDC, Lecturers have an administrator representing them. There is also a former FAUW President on the administration side of the PDC. Early in the history of the labour movement, it has been understood that the employer and employees quite often have conflicting goals, and so it is essential to separate the two entities so that they are prevented from influencing each other or colluding while bargaining. To remain separate and to deconflict from their employers, unions have their own staff, whose salary are usually paid entirely from members’ dues. In contrast, FAUW’s staff is being paid by the university, at least partially. Decoupling between FAUW and Administration should commence from a thorough governance review. This review was launched in November 2021 and supported by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), but still has not gotten off the ground two years later. Until there is a clear understanding of where FAUW ends and Administration begins, it will always be unclear whose interests FAUW truly represents.

No matter how one re-shuffles people on the PDC or the FAUW Board, these systemic issues will present themselves again and again in the future. Lecturers Connect sees a solution to both of these issues in unionization. Your support means a lot to us, and we encourage you to join our movement by becoming a member of the University of Waterloo Teaching Stream Faculty Association (WatTSFA). Sign the membership card here.