Special Election for NTT Position- Slate of Candidates
10/23/17
Candidates for Open NTT Position on the FSU Executive Committee
Dear Colleague,
The following four individuals have submitted the required paperwork to be a candidate for the open NTT position on the FSU Executive Committee. Below is the candidate, their title and statement.
Monique Fuguet Senior Lecturer I in Mathematics Department
If we haven’t met, please let me tell you that I studied at UMassBoston at the turn of the century(!), was a peer tutor and TA, joined the Mathematics faculty in Fall 2005, and earned a continuing full-time appointment.
I’ve been active in FSU initiatives and actions, was an MTA delegate two years running, helped inaugurate MassUnited (NTTs throughout Massachusetts) and am ready to contribute more.
Working in CSM (a college not usually represented on the FSU ExCom), and in one of two departments that run the most courses/sections (along with English), I bring a valuable perspective on many challenges facing UMass Boston.
Some current concerns include: preserving our urban mission, mentoring at-risk students, supporting vulnerable programs/centers on campus, resisting privatization, and promoting unity among faculty across rank/discipline.
I’d be honored to: have your vote, listen to and voice your concerns, and work on behalf of UMB’s amazing faculty.
George Kelley Senior Lecturer in MSIS – Online CAPS and College Of Management
I first came to active union activities in the 2000/2001 timeframe, by making hundreds of phone calls as part of an initiative to unionize adjunct faculty at another university. The initiative at the time consisted of a 3-person effort out of a repurposed church office. I’ve been teaching primarily online and part-time through CAPS for 16 years now. I have had a dual-career as a scholar and manager in industry, including win-win vendor and supplier negotiations and contracting. I have reviewed the major provisions of the redbook, the redbook implementation, and the bargaining agreement in detail as a result of my experience with the grievance process. I seek to contribute some new energy and a fresh perspective as we advance the hundreds of workplace improvement and equity tasks before us, and to do so with broader membership participation and collaboration across campus units, and through off-campus awareness and outreach activities.
Kathryn Kogan Senior Lecturer in Psychology
For most of my 24 years as a non tenure-track instructor here at UMB I have been actively involved in the Faculty Staff Union. My involvement began with the drive to secure health insurance for NTT faculty and grew into years of successful activism on behalf of better recognition and inclusion for NTTs. I have years of experience in contract negotiations and working with the Executive Committee team to resist parking fee increases and safeguard and improve working conditions for faculty. I am asking for your vote so that I may resume my work as a strong voice for NTT faculty and work within the Executive Committee to build more faculty awareness and involvement in the FSU. The current political climate challenges the very survival of our union, and calls for experienced and committed Executive Committee members to join the team. I’m asking for your vote so that I may get to work on your behalf.
Linda Ai-Yun Liu Associate Lecturer in Sociology
Now in my fourth year at UMB, I have been deeply involved with campus and union activism since the announcement of budget cuts two years ago. I coauthored the Save UMB petition opposing the layoffs of 400 NTTs in 2016 and helped to found our Facebook Page. I now also serve on the FSU Communications committee, participate regularly in the Coalition to Save UMB, and am a member of the new subcommittee, FSU EMERGE (Energizing Membership: Engagement, Recruitment, Retention, Growth and Empowerment).
As a Lecturer without a continuing contract, I aim to advocate for and improve the working conditions of some of the most vulnerable members of our union. I hope to add my voice as a delegate from this underrepresented constituency. In light of the looming Supreme Court decision threatening public sector unions, I believe that it is crucial to build union-wide solidarity and member engagement.
Voting opens Monday, October 30th at 9AM and ends on Monday, November 6th at 9AM.
You will be sent a ballot on Monday, October 30th.
From the FSU Elections Committee:
Sofya Aptekar, Sociology
Caroline Coscia, Political Science
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