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NCCFT President Frank Frisenda’s Statement at the Bylaws Ratification Meeting

Hi. My name is Frank Frisenda and I am the President of the NCCFT. If you feel confident that you understand this issue, then vote accordingly. It is unfortunate that some individuals and groups have made this personal and are leveling all sorts of reprehensible attacks on the NCCFT leadership and negotiating team, as they offer a variety of alternative facts with regard to this vote. If you do not feel confident that you understand this issue, then your vote becomes a matter of trust. The Academic Senate voted to support the changes to the bylaws, not because they did not understand the scope of the changes, as they have been charged with; not because they were rushed or felt threatened, as they were charge with. They voted because they read the revision, debated the revision and voted in favor of the revision. The NCCFT has always supported the will of the Senate. I ask you to support the will of the Senate and vote Yes.

4 Responses

  1. Thank you, Frank, for a clear and forthright statement of the union’s position. However, I am persuaded by the arguments of former AS chair Deluty that we should not be rushed into voting our faculty rights away by the Admins fear tactics. As a longtime unionist I honor the need to negotiate from a position of strength and I believe such a position would be achieved if by voting NO we permitted the Senate to hold a real debate in June and thus strengthen our work towards the September report

  2. How sad that we have degenerated into this Trumpian world- even at NCC- of vilifying those who disagree with those in power. I am one of those who see no merit in the position taken by the the NCCFT’s Executive Committee. I have not attacked anyone personally, unlike your surrogates, but have stuck to the issues, facts and law. These are not alternative facts. Or is it that disagreeing with you, Frank, now becomes an alternate fact? I suggest you read Orwell’s 1984 to see what happens in a society when those who are in power get to decide what is legitimate and what not, what are real facts and what not, and use fear to keep power. It is the union which has negotiated our rights away using the tactic of fear and absolute misrepresentation regarding the legal implication of your already negotiated change to section 20 of the contract. I understand the issues perfectly well and unfortunately you abdicated the mission of a union: to protect the working conditions, prerogatives and our status as professionals. Shame on you.

  3. With all due respect, the NCCFT leadership should probably take care not to refer to any members of the NCCFT as leveling “reprehensible attacks on the NCCFT” and offering “alternative facts.” The day may come when any member might be on what the leadership considers the wrong side of an issue. The NCCFT leadership has a duty to protect a union of academics, so it might be wise to reconsider promoting trust as an alternative to knowledge.

    1. Thank you, Faren and Jason. You represent the very best of our union membership and always take the part of reason and truth.

      Solidarity forever !
      Barry

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