Dear FAUST members:

This section of our website is devoted to "letters of solidarity": expressions of support that FAUST has issued to other unions or social justice communities, or letters of concern over various issues of interest to our membership.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Canadian Union of Postal Workers

 

15 June 2011

Mr. Chopra,

I am writing as president of the Faculty Association at the University of St. Thomas in Fredericton, NB (FAUST). Our nearly two hundred university professors, along with students and support staff all over campus, stand in full support of CUPW in its struggle to maintain fair wages, benefits and working conditions. We especially applaud CUPW workers' refusal to accept any contract which would create a two-tier system of compensation to the detriment of younger workers and future generations.

As the targets of a lockout ourselves not too long ago, we are particularly in solidarity with those whose employers choose to impose rather than negotiate solutions. We therefore urge you in the strongest terms to end the lockout of Canada Post employees and return to the bargaining table, ready to make a fair settlement.

Yours,

Robin Vose

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 

 2 June 2011

 

Denis Lemelin

National President

Canadian Union of Postal Workers

377 Bank Street

Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1Y3

 

Dear Brother Lemelin:

 

On behalf of the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST), we wish to express our solidarity with your struggle to preserve the rights of  your members, who are the bone and sinew of the public postal service.

 The plans of Canada Post to modernize the public postal service, in the form of introducing new technologies and work processes, must not come at the expense of the postal workers. We were shocked to learn that CPC is proposing  to cut 7000 jobs in order to reduce their payroll. This means that the remaining workers will be expected to do more with less, which has implications for their health and safety, as well as the quality of service. We are also concerned that the CPC is demanding lower rates for current temporary employees and fewer benefits for new hires. This is deplorable, for it targets the corporation’s most vulnerable workers. We support CUPW’s vision for the future of the public postal service: not a corporation preoccupied with profit and a skeleton workforce, but that of a “A Modern Post Powered by People”.

 Your union was instrumental in obtaining collective bargaining rights for public sector workers in Canada in the 1960s and 70s. As a result of your leadership, many faculty members across the country now  experience the benefits and protection of union membership. We hope that  tonight’s rotating strike will not be necessary, but if it is, FAUST will stand with you in solidarity in this labour action.

 

In Solidarity

 Robin Vose, President of FAUST      

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Support for CAUT Academic Freedom Fund:

 

James Turk

Executive Director

CAUT
2705 Queensview Drive
Ottawa Ontario K2B 8K2

20 May 2011:

 Dear Mr. Turk:

 Please find enclosed a cheque for $1000 from FAUST for the CAUT Academic Freedom Fund. We recognize the significance of ensuring academic freedom for all faculty members, and hope that our contribution will aid CAUT in providing needed resources to worthy individuals and organizations.

 In Solidarity

 

Robin Vose

On behalf of the FAUST Executive

______________________________________________________________________________________

Support for NB Advisory Council for the Status of Women:

 

 29 April 2011

 

The Honourable David Alward, Premier

Province of New Brunswick

Centennial Building

P.O. Box 6000, STA A

Fredericton NB E3B 5H1

 

Dear Premier Alward:

 The executives of  FAUST (the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas) and AUNBT (the Association of  University of New Brunswick Teachers) wish to voice their strong opposition to your administration’s decision to cut funding to the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women. This agency was created in 1977  by the Conservative government of Richard Hatfield to provide independent non-partisan advice on issues pertaining to the wellbeing of  New Brunswick women. Merging the functions of the NBACSW into the government’s existing Women’s Issues Branch is simply unacceptable, for a government branch such as the WIB is not objective, nor is it free to criticize existing policies and legislation.

 As academics, educators and union members,  we have already benefited immensely from the research and policy analysis provided by the NBACSW. We contend that if New Brunswick truly wishes to address gender inequality and create a more equitable and progessive province, it must allow arms length agencies like the NBACSW to do their job.

 Thus, we join with such organizations as the Canadian Labour Congress, The Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations, the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, CUPE National, and many others, who urge you, in the strongest language possible, to reinstate your funding to the NBACSW.

 

Yours Sincerely

 Robin Vose, President of FAUST, for the FAUST Executive                                          

Jula Hughes, President of AUNBT, for the AUNBT Executive

 ______________________________________________________________________________________

Support for VIUFA:
 

17 March 2011

 

Dan McDonald, President,

Vancouver Island University Faculty Association

640 Fifth St.

Nanaimo BC V9R 1P9

 

Dear Dan and members of the VIUFA:

 Please find enclosed a cheque for $1000 from the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST)  to help defray the costs of your  ongoing job action. We are especially concerned by your administration’s propensity to drag its heels at the negotiating table. Please accept this letter and cheque as an embodiment of our solidarity; we will continue to moniter your struggle closely and do all we can to support it.

 

 In Solidarity

 Robin Vose, President of FAUST

on behalf of the FAUST Executive 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Support for STUSE:

 

2 March 2011

 

Dear STUSE Organizing Committee:

FAUST is pleased to welcome STUSE to the unionized community of St. Thomas University.  We all have an interest in ensuring that every worker is treated with fairness and respect in our shared workplace, and standing in solidarity with one another as union members is the best way to do this.  We wish campus student workers well as they embark on their important unionization initiative, and we stand ready to provide any assistance we possibly can.  The decisions you choose to make now will benefit not only yourselves but generations of student workers to come."
 
-Robin Vose, President, Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Support for NB Coalition for Pay Equity:

 

Dr. Michelle Lafrance

Volunteer Coalition for Pay Equity

 November 30, 2010

 

Dear Dr. Lafrance,

 Thank you for your letter of November 4^th.  Pay equity is a major concern for all our members, and the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST) is therefore pleased to make a contribution in the amount of $200 to the New Brunswick Pay Equity Coalition.  We are dismayed to learn that the federal government has failed in its duty to support the Coalition’s valuable work, and frustrated by the provincial government’s continuing failure to heed the Coalition’s calls for a law on pay equity.  Thank you for your ongoing efforts to ensure pay equity for everyone in our community.

 

Sincerely,

 Robin Vose

President, FAUST

 

Also:

29 April 2010

 

Hon. Keith Ashfield

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6

 

Dear Hon. Keith Ashfield:

On behalf of the Executive of FAUST (The Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas), I would like to express our dismay at the decision of the federal government to cut the funding of the New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity. The Coalition has done much to improve the lives of the women of New Brunswick. Promoting the message that pay equity is a human right, it took a leading role in the campaign to adopt New Brunswick’s Pay Equity Act, which came into effect on 1 April 2010, and ensures pay equity for women employed  in the public sector. Moreover, the Coalition continues to lobby for pay equity for the 67% of New Brunswick women who continue to toil  for minimal wages in the private sector.

 The Coalition has requested monies from the Status of Women Canada to work with 80 female representatives from throughout the province to improve their leadership skills and thereby strengthen their participation in the larger community. The long reach of the Coalition is illustrated by its membership, which includes over 700 individual members and 81 group members. Despite its impressive scope, the Coalition has always achieved much with a relatively small budget. If, however, the federal funding of the Coalition is eliminated, their very existence is in jeopardy.

 As a resident of New Brunswick, we are confident that you will recognize the importance of this organization to your constituents, and take the steps necessary to see that the Coalition’s funding is not eliminated.

 

Yours Sincerely,

 Robin Vose, FAUST President,

on behalf of the FAUST Executive

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Support for NOSMFSA:

 

NOSMFSA Executive

c/o Yuk-Sem Won, President

2436 Arthur St. West

Thunder Bay, Ontario

P7K 1E6

 

7 September, 2010.

 

Dear Members of NOSMFSA:

Please find enclosed a cheque for $1000 from the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST)  to help defray the costs of your  ongoing job action. Having experienced a lockout and strike of our own in 2007-08, we are well aware of the types of challenges and frustrations you are undergoing, as well as the importance of support from fellow unions and assocations. 

   

In Solidarity

 Robin Vose, FAUST President

for the FAUST Executive 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

G20 Protests:

 

3 August 2010

 The Honorable Keith Ashfield

Fredericton Office
23 Alison Blvd (Main Office)
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3C 2N5
Telephone: (506) 452-4110
Fax: (506) 452-4076

Dear Hon. Keith Ashfield:

 As the Member of Parliament for Fredericton and the Regional Minister for New Brunswick, we wish you to convey to Prime Minister Harper our concerns regarding the unprecedented curtailment of civil liberties that took place during the G20 protests in Toronto in June 2010.

 The extraordinary powers granted to the Toronto police force during these meetings was especially distressing. The tenor of the demonstrations was largely peaceful and certainly did not justify the use of excessive force, intimidation, and preemptive arrests. Many of those detained in Toronto were bystanders who were caught up in the fray. We believe that most Canadians would be shocked to learn that almost 20,000 police officers were deployed during the meetings, and more than 1000 people arrested, which is more than any other time in Canadian history, including the much-cited October Crisis of 1970.

 Canada is often portrayed, by Canadians and others, as a “just society,” where citizens enjoy the protection of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, we concur with CAUT (the Canadian Association of University Teachers) that Canadians’ rights were severely assaulted during these demonstrations, namely their freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom of expression (http://www.caut.ca/uploads/OpenLetter-G20Security-en.pdf). As one of our faculty members intimated to us after witnessing these events, “This is not my Canada.”

 Although the G20 weekend took place in Ontario, the unprecedented backlash it precipitated has implications for all of us. As academics and educators, we hope that the various levels of government, and Canadians generally, learn from the experience. Thus we support the call for an independent public inquiry into the actions of the police and other security forces during the event. The extent of support for this inquiry is staggering, ranging from The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Amnesty International, to a Facebook group “Canadians Demanding a Public Inquiry into Toronto G20,” which by June 29 had over 18,000 signatures (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/830057--calls-for-g20-inquiry-ratchet-up).We add our voice to this initiative.

 Minster Ashfield, we strongly urge you to represent our concerns to the Prime Minister and to support the implementation of a fair and independent inquiry so that such state-sponsored intimidation never occurs again on Canadian soil.

 Yours Sincerely,

 Robin Vose, President

for the FAUST Executive

______________________________________________________________________________________

Elimination of long form census:

 3 August 2010

Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry
C.D. Howe Building
235 Queen Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5
Canada

 Dear Minister Clement:

 As the Executive of the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST), we wish to voice our concern over the federal government’s decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census in favour of a shorter voluntary National Household Survey. Many of our members, as educators and researchers, rely on the long-form census as an integral tool in dissecting trends and patterns in Canadian society.The optional nature of the household survey will not compensate for the long-form census, for it lacks the comprehensiveness of the latter, and will thus produce uneven and unreliable data. As James Turk, Executive Director ofCAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers) has noted, not only will this decision to eliminate the census have “disastrous consequences” for our “understanding of Canadian society,” but it will also compromise the ability of various levels of government to make “informed decisions about social and economic policies.”http://www.caut.ca/news_details.asp?nid=1540&page=490

 In short, we urge you in the strongest language possible to reconsider your decision and reinstate the long-form census immediately. The future of Canadian social policy depends on the continued availability of comprehensive and systematic information.

  

Yours Sincerely,

 Robin Vose, President,

for the FAUST Executive 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 Support for SCCCUM:

 

23 April 2010

 

Syndicat des chargées et chargés de cours de l'Université de Montréal

(SCCCUM)

3060, boul. Edouard-Montpetit

Bureau 102 - Universite de Montreal - 970

C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville

Montreal Quebec

H3C 3J7

 

Dear Executive Committee of SCCCUM:

 

Please find enclosed a cheque for $1000 from the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST), which we hope will help to defray some of the expenses associated with your recent labour dispute. As a faculty union with a part-time bargaining unit, we have been following your job action very closely, and  certainly empathize with many of the issues faced by part-time faculty members.

 

Yours in Solidarity

Robin Vose FAUST President,

on behalf of the FAUST Executive  

______________________________________________________________________________________

Support for LUFA: 

 

18 February 2010

 

Lakehead University Faculty Association

c/o President Joey Farrell

Suite CB-4108

Lakehead University

Thunderbay ONTARIO

P7B 5E1

 

Dear LUFA members:

 Please accept the enclosed cheque of  $1000 as a contribution to your fight against Lakehead University’s unilateral decision to impose on university employees four unpaid ‘furlough days’ from December 21-24, 2010.We believe that such an action will have serious long-term repercussions on the collective bargaining process in post-secondary institutions throughout Canada. We applaud your decision to protest this action in a rally on December 20, and to continue your academic and administrative work on December 21.

 

Yours in solidarity

 Robin Vose, President of FAUST

on behalf of the FAUST executive 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 Support for NBFL:

 

18 February 2010

 

New Brunswick Federation of Labour

c/o Michel Boudreau

96, Norwood avenue

Suite 208

Moncton, Nouveau-Brunswick

E1E 6L9

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the NBFL:

 Please accept the enclosed cheque of $700 as a donation to the seventh annual Blair Doucet Youth Summer Camp at the Universite de Moncton from 2-6 August 2010. We fully support this initiative to make young people (and future unionists) more aware of  such issues as child labour, human rights, the importance of collective bargaining, and  environmentalism. Moreover, we applaud the NBFL’s awarding of $25,000 in scholarships to young people since the summer camps began in 2001.

 

Yours in solidarity

 Robin Vose President of FAUST,

on behalf of the FAUST executive