Welcome to Fall 2020 from the FSU
9/9/2020
Dear FSU Colleagues,
Welcome to Fall 2020. We have a new Chancellor, and with it all the possibilities and uncertainties that a change in leadership brings. We are in the midst of a global pandemic that threatens not only the fiscal health of public higher education, but our personal health and safety in the workplace. The nation-wide (even global) protests against racial inequality and police violence have sparked debates and stimulated action around institutional racism within and beyond universities such as our own. And, perhaps most strangely, our work itself is no longer centered on campus, leaving us physically disconnected as we continue to teach, engage in research, and keep the university running in ways that serve UMass Boston students and employees. It’s a challenging time.
For these reasons (and many others), it is more important than ever that we continue to build a strong union for faculty and librarians – one that allows us to collectively fight for health and safety at work while pushing for better salaries, working conditions, and job security. A strong union is what gives us a collective voice to advance not only our interests, but those of our students and public higher education more broadly.
This Fall will be an active one for the FSU and there are numerous ways to get involved:
- Bargaining – Expanded bargaining allows all members to participate in bargaining sessions. Bargaining proceeded throughout the summer and will continue into the Fall. As we recently reported, the UMB Administration has indicated that it will be asking for furloughs from faculty. It is unlikely that we will know more until our next bargaining session on September 30th. Stay tuned for an invitation to participate.
- General Meeting – Please attend our General Meeting for the Fall semester on October 7th at 4pm .
- FSU Forums - The FSU will also be holding or co-sponsoring a number of “Forums” throughout the semester on topics ranging from new sexual harassment policies and anti-racism initiatives to faculty research and democratic governance.
- FSU Executive Committee Meetings – The FSU Executive Committee meets every two weeks during the academic year – meetings are open to all members. Our first meeting of the Fall is this Friday at 4pm. We also meet at the same time on the following dates: 9/11, 9/25, 10/16, 10/30, 11/5, 11/20, 12/4, 12/18.
This is your union, and our ability to shape UMass Boston and public higher education as a whole depends on your participation.
Sincerely,
Steve Striffler Caroline Coscia
FSU President FSU Vice President
p.s. There is also an opening on the FSU Executive Committee for a tenured rep. If you are interested in running, please review the information here.
For information on the FSU, links to our contract and bargaining updates, and a calendar of events, see the FSU webpage
Check out the FSU Blog
Please “like” the FSU Facebook Page
Follow us on Twitter at @FSU_UMB