To: The Board

From:  ASIJ Teachers Union

Date:  January 7, 2004

Re:  Dialogue

We know all of you are busy people and have contributed countless unpaid hours to ASIJ--and your efforts, concerns for the school, and services rendered are appreciated.  ASIJ, under your direction, has reached a vital crossroads that many of us--parents, faculty, staff, and students--look forward to in reshaping the focus and direction of this wonderful school.  Your selection of Tim Carr, a vibrant and personable leader, will do much to launch this school into its second century.

But, after the recent arbitration meeting, we--the Union members--again feel frustrated and disillusioned that neither progress, counter-offers, nor even any meaningful dialogue with the school occurred through the government arbitrators.  This frustration and disillusionment matches our feelings from the treatment we have received during the past two years in trying to discuss the changes in personnel policies imposed by the Board/Admin.  The Board/Admin talks about openness, dialogue, communication and transparency; and yet meets employee concerns with stonewalling, avoidance and half-truths.  We-- the Union members-- have each given decades of exemplary service to ASIJ in the classroom as well as co-curricular activities and alumni contacts.  We expect to be treated with appropriate respect, openness, frankness and decency in these matters of retirement.

Within the school's judiciary process and more recently through Union danko meetings and now arbitration, the Union has tried to create an atmosphere of open dialogue and understanding.  Those of us working under the Non-Regular Contract continue to search for common ground and understanding on the retirement issue.  We are not the cause of this conflict, and we do expect HONEST answers to our questions.  There has been reluctant compliance to lawful meetings on the part of the Board's representatives. The recent arbitration meeting (for which we waited two months) was a complete waste of time.  This 3:00 meeting in Shinjuku was prematurely ended by the ASIJ Director of Business Affairs with NO arbitration dialogue taking place.  The meeting (the date and time of which was set by the Administration) was abruptly adjourned by the ASIJ Administrator in attendance, with the reason given that the Board's lawyers needed to leave.  Is this how ASIJ now conducts its business?  How can we have discussion in this manner?  Is ASIJ looked at as an assembly line minimizing costs and maximizing profits, rather than an educational institution to guide students to be compassionate, inquisitive learners, prepared for global responsibility? 

The Board may perceive the Non-Regular Contract as a sincere gesture on its part to create equity and harmony in the ASIJ workplace. We do not. In our view the Non-Regular Contract policy is:

1)      a unilateral change in interpretation of an existing policy under which we were hired and worked for many years and

2)      employee discrimination by age. 

The first is illegal in Japan and the latter is illegal in America.

We do want to SERIOUSLY discuss this issue with the Board as an in-house issue.  It was expected (by Japanese protocol) that the Headmaster and Board Chair would be the main people in the danko discussions.  We again would ask that the afore-mentioned people be present, participating and directing subsequent formal meetings.  In our opinion, your current team has no other objective than to stonewall and delay.  We do not wish to take this issue to court (or even to have had to form a union), but in the present state of no honest discussion of the issue there seems to be little alternative.

We hope you will move swiftly, with high priority, to actively settle the employment issues facing faculty and staff.  We are prepared to join you in positive dialogue and actions with the intent of reaching our common goals:

1)      Preserving the schools stability and vitality and

2)      Re-establishing that harmony that is a gateway for this school to become the best school for all--students, parents, staff and faculty.

Allow us to enclose some items from the past few years.

1)      A history of the situation

2)      Questions submitted to Lee Daniels and Stan Beesley

3)      Replies from six former administrators regarding the interpretation of the retirement policy.

Complete transcripts of all 4 danko meetings (as well as other information) are available on our website at http://asijtu.tripod.com.

Awaiting a reply.

Sincerely,

ASIJ Teachers Union                       Non-Union members showing their

                                                         support for a resolution of this issue

This has been signed by 55 faculty/staff.  If you would like to add your signature come to the Math Office.