• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Huey Lin, a Chinese language lecturer in the Asian Languages and Cultures department, is fighting to get her job back after being dismissed by her department for alleged unprofessional behavior.

The notification of her dismissal from the department in May came as a surprise because she received high marks on her evaluations during her two years at UCLA, said Bill Quirk, a field representative for University Council – American Federation of Teachers, a union which represents lecturers.

Unlike professors, lecturers do not have tenure and are hired on a yearly basis.

Though the Asian Languages and Cultures department has the right to decide which lecturers will be reappointed, the reasoning behind Lin’s dismissal is unclear, Quirk said. He said Lin’s dismissal is a violation of contract and departmental policies on two counts.

Lynne Thompson, director of Campus Human Resources who has been involved in the case, declined to comment on Lin’s case “because it is in the grievance process.” Other university officials could not be reached for comment.

Lin, along with angry students and parents, demands a valid explanation for why her contract was not renewed.

Two students and two union representatives held a protest Tuesday during the Chinese language placement test to let students know the injustice of the situation, participants said.

“I think that she deserves justice, deserves an explanation, and I want her back in the department,” said Lisa Yung, a second-year undeclared student who took Lin’s courses last year.

According to an end-of-the-year review letter from the Asian Languages and Cultures department, the review committee acknowledges Lin’s excellence in teaching but ends the document with her non-reappointment, citing “several incidents of unprofessional conduct involving Huey Lin.”

UC-AFT, the union representing Lin, has filed a legal grievance on her behalf. The union also filed charges for unfair labor practices in the department unrelated to Lin’s case.

The union claims the university labeled her as unprofessional without providing any evidence alluding to such behavior, and did not allow Lin the opportunity to respond to the letter before the faculty vote, Quirk said.

Lin, who had no prior contact with the union before her dismissal, said she will continue to fight for her job.

“I want to resolve this so other lecturers don’t have to go through this ... (Lecturers) teach the most students but receive the least respect,” Lin said.

Though Lin wants her job back, she says she is more concerned about the ethical aspect of her dismissal.

“First and foremost I want them to apologize for the false accusation and to undo the damage they did to my career, and then hopefully reappoint me,” Lin said.

Lin said that her case represents the surface of deeper issues of unfair treatment towards lecturers.

“My feeling is that the department maybe as well as the school is seeing this case as a war between the union and the school, but it’s not – it is about how the lecturers are being treated,” Lin said.

Union representatives and Lin have had several meetings with the department and UCLA labor relations.

“They have not been cooperative in efforts to settle the matters as of yet,” Quirk said.

If Lin’s dismissal is not resolved within the department, the next step of the grievance process takes the issue to the UC Office of the President.