[Disclaimer: The attachments in this blog and the views expressed in the content are solely that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Lecturers Connect or other associated parties.]
Last week's guest blog by Su-Yin Tan informed us that the FAUW President and Board had suspended her and removed Mary Hardy from the P76/77 Policy Drafting Committee (PDC). In case you missed it, the link is here: https://www.lecturersconnect.com/post/guest-blog-why-i-m-being-pushed-off-the-policy-76-drafting-committee
In order to dispute the conflict-of-interest conclusion, the FAUW Board requested Su-Yin to provide a written response to this finding by October 27th, 2023.
She has since submitted a written response. We asked whether she could share it with us and she obliged. Her letter can be downloaded below:
The letter provides a review of how P76/77 negotiations and unionization have been handled by FAUW so far and some insight into what happens behind closed doors.
Su-Yin resigned from FAUW, she resigned from everything she was on in FAUW except the PDC. She at that point said that she was going to join lecturers connect and fully support the unionization drive. I don't believe she can negotiate as a representative of FAUW when she is also supporting removing the lecturers from FAUW
First, the fundamental question is clear: Is it good or bad for a person to work with both FAUW and Lecturers Connect? I would say it is good. You? Please consider your answer. Regardless of whether you agree with me or not, if what is said in this letter is true, it is clear that the administration and FAUW don't want to let this happen. Is that OK? I feel strongly that the administration and FAUW should NOT MAKE US CHOOSE! I believe that they should encourage communication between the two groups-- because I want to stay part of FAUW, as does Su-Yin (obviously).
If I am forced to choose between the two organizations, I will have to choose Lecturers…