Remember last month when I mentioned that MnSCU was creating a group to cheer on more government spending? That apparently didn't sit well with my faculty union. In the December newsletter,

Recently MnSCU started a Friends Action Network (FAN) to encourage faculty, students, alumni, and community members to sign petitions and write to legislators in support of MnSCU�s legislative budget request and legislative agenda. While I think it is good that MnSCU is developing community and alumni support for higher education funding, I am concerned that MnSCU not try to usurp the voice of the faculty on legislative matters. IFO is the official voice of the state university faculty and has its own network for communicating with legislators. We are more than willing to lend our support to most of MnSCU�s budget request, but we don�t think MnSCU is asking for enough money, and there are some portions of the request that appear to link money to pay-for-performance. Faculty are, of course, free to sign petitions and communicate anything they want to legislators, but I would urge faculty to know exactly what is in the MnSCU request before they sign petitions or write letters.

"We want more money, and we don't want it tied to performance." That's our union.