Ex Com E-Vote, April 28, 2019, Motion on Faculty of Color Report
FSU EX COM E-VOTE 4/28/19
Ex Com was asked by email on 4/28/19 to vote on the following. The FSU Executive Committee voted to endorse the proposed ratification timeline below. The motion passed by majority vote.
Good morning!
Hope it's been a good weekend (so far)...
Barring an unforeseen late-breaking development, our Evote will officially open at 9 a.m. today. Please let me know if you have any trouble accessing the voting site.
Here, again, are the motions:
1) The Executive Committee’s communications director will send a statement via the FSU email list acknowledging receipt of the report on the concerns and problems faced by faculty of color at UMass Boston. The statement will affirm the principal findings of the report and pledge to implement recommendations made in the report to address the concerns of faculty and staff of color at UMB. (The statement will be drafted by the communications director and approved by a simple majority of the ExComm.)
2) The FSU Executive Committee asks permission to circulate the report on faculty of color’s concerns. The Executive Committee only asks permission to circulate the report — not the names of those who worked on it or endorsed it.
3) A committee of the FSU shall be formed to investigate possible solutions to the problems raised in the report on faculty of color’s concerns. The committee will work to implement the recommendations made in the report and any additional measures needed to address the concerns of faculty and staff of color at UMB. The committee will invite input and assistance from faculty of color, although it will do its own work without asking additional work of faculty of color.
All best,
Jeff
Jeffrey Melnick
Graduate Program Director
American Studies Department
University of Massachusetts Boston
THE STATEMENT REFERENCED IN #1 ABOVE WAS APPROVED ON 5/1/19 AND IS BELOW:
Colleagues,
We write you, at this busiest time of year, to apprise you of a matter of great significance for all of us. Very recently the Executive Committee of the FSU was approached by a small group of colleagues speaking on behalf of dozens of faculty members of color. They submitted a report on serious matters of concern and asked to present the findings to the Executive Committee. The report offers a set of critiques, challenges, and opportunities for the FSU. Its message is at once simple and profound: “the FSU as an entity and FSU leadership in particular needs to think (and act) beyond the contract.”
The report details the myriad ways—institutional and interpersonal—that faculty of color have been overworked, neglected, and disrespected. What the Executive Committee wishes to communicate with our message today is that we recognize the inequities outlined in this report and we accept the challenge these committed colleagues have made to the union.
The concerns outlined in this document have to do with teaching, scholarly life, and service burdens, but also to the overall quality of life for faculty of color at University of Massachusetts Boston. The experiences and perspectives offered in this narrative make clear that the FSU has been perceived as the direct cause of inequality and marginalization. The report also emphasizes that the FSU and its leadership have developed neither the consciousness nor the active protocols to begin redressing the problems articulated in this report. The report also holds the administration of UMB accountable in matters having to do with equity, oversight, transparency and more; the FSU Executive Committee acknowledges that it is our responsibility to advocate on all of these fronts.
We recognize that our message today should be taken as (at best) a placeholder and a pledge: our work starts now. Before long we will be providing more information about this report and our responses: we urge you to join our efforts. We thank our colleagues who prepared and presented this report for taking the time and making this effort that benefits all who work and learn at University of Massachusetts Boston.
FSU Executive Committee