Re: SFU Procedures re. TSSU Strike

Hi Wendy,

You may be correct about the policy's intent but not it's letter,

10.2 A Member who chooses not to cross a legally-constituted picket line will inform the

Dean within 36 hours after a picket line is announced. All others will be expected to

perform their normal duties at the usual location.

The picket line for classes to be held on Oct 3rd was announced on Tue. Sept. 27 at 2:30 p.m. -- at the very latest.

Note that 10.2 refers to the policy circulated by my Dean.

Best,

Sam

Sam Black

Assoc. Prof. Philosophy, SFU

This note is not AI-generated.

I respectfully acknowledge that SFU is on the unceded ancestral and traditional territories of the səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.

From: Wendy Loken Thornton
Sent: September 28, 2023 2:25:45 PM
To: Sam Black; academic-discussion
Subject: Re: SFU Procedures re. TSSU Strike

Well Sam, obviously the answer to the policy vacuum is that we need more staff hires!

I interpreted the policy language as notifying the Dean 36 hours before the picketing location that impact your class, so I submitted the info today stating I would not be teaching October 3 at SFU Burnaby as that is when pickets will be up there. My form went through without incident.

On another note, I've been listening to the following podcasts (Of Boys and Men Part 1 and 2; interview with Richard Reeves) that some of you might find of interest. It does an excellent job of reviewing the evidence that boys and men are falling significantly behind other groups historically considered marginalized, and highlights the problems with the "additive" assumptions of intersectionality and zero sum thinking.

https://politicology.com/episodes/

***

Wendy Loken Thornton, Ph.D. R.Psych
Professor, Department of Psychology
Chair, Research Ethics Board,
Simon Fraser University

***

The SFU Burnaby campus is located on the unceded traditional territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Kwikwetlem Nations.

Note: My working hours and yours may differ. Please don't feel obligated to reply outside of your normal hours.

From: Sam Black <samuel_black@sfu.ca>
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2023 1:25 PM
To: academic-discussion
Subject: SFU Procedures re. TSSU Strike

Hi All,

I'm having a hard time making sense of the timing of the announcements emanating from the SFU central administration regarding the TSSU strike.

Some Key Dates:

-- On Tuesday, we received notice from SFUFA (12:30 p.m.) and SFU (2:30 p.m.) that the TSSU had announced pickets which would begin on Thursday. No official time was given for when the TSSU had declared its intention to establish picket lines.

-- I promptly checked SFU's Strike Policy on Tuesday on SFU's website. It indicated that faculty intending to respect picket lines are required to inform their Dean within 36 hours after the intention to erect picket lines has been announced. That would be by Thursday at approximately 12:30 or 2:30 am. One might read this to mean that faculty intending to respect any picket line announced by the TSSU (e.g., on Oct. 3rd) were required to give notice within the 36 hour window of the TSSU's announcement (whenever that announcement was made).

(Reference to this deadline *now* appears to have been removed from the SFU website. But it was mentioned in a helpful PDF circulated by the FASS Dean on Wednesday at Art. 10.2. It is not a figment of my imagination.)

This morning (Sept. 28), *after* the deadline for notifying our Deans had passed, SFU has for the first time given details of the offer the TSSU rejected on Monday or Tuesday (Sept. 25 or Sept. 26.)

To sum this up:

1) SFU's Strike Policy contemplates serious penalties for faculty who respect picket lines including,

(a) Loss of salary and benefits

(b) Unspecified penalties for failure to give notification within a 36 hour window starting from the announcement of the intention to establish picket lines

2) SFU only released critical information for faculty deliberating about whether to respect picket lines after the expiration of SFU's 36 hour deadline (and *before* apparently scrubbing reference to that deadline).

And this is what I don't get.

The TSSU strike was an entirely foreseeable event. SFU knew or should have known there was a high likelihood of its occurrence. Why is the vacuum on relevant policies now so profound that my Dean felt the need to respond by circulating a policy PDF created by the Dean of Science? Why did SFU release pertinent information about the offer, which the TSSU rejected, only today?

Perhaps I'm missing the obvious. But the central administration's response to an entirely predictable event -- one which is playing havoc with our pedagogic vocation -- seems utterly chaotic. Has this administration simply lost track of its responsibilities to its faculty and its students? (I forego trying to answer rhetorical questions.)

Best,

Sam

Sam Black

Assoc. Prof. Philosophy, SFU

This note is not AI-generated.