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A party of demanding the withdrawal of the unfair termination on Mr. Stanham by Hoshi University

This English version was brought to you by machine translation.

I just got here, and I need a three-line description of what's going on.

  1. Mr. Stanham was hired by Hoshi University with the promise that he will work for three years from April 2018 and will get a permanent job after the examination if there is no problem (There are many testimonies to this.). The university said they made no such promises and unilaterally informed him at March 2020 that they would stop hiring him in March 2021. Therefore, the labor dispute (discussions in court) were held.
  2. In 2020, the COVID-19 disaster began, and despite the very unique circumstances, the university assigned Mr. Stanham to work on creating videos for on-demand classes without consideration. So, Mr. Stanham, who teached three times as many classes as other teachers, was working more than 300 hours a month.
  3. The university terminated Mr. Stanham's employment in March 2021 as unqualified without reviewing him, citing poor performance about learning videos and a fault of credit approval. Mr. Stanham is seeking reinstatement.

Details

July 23, 2021

Mr. Stanham had been working at Hoshi University as a part-time lecturer since April 2016 and as a full-time lecturer since April 2018. He mainly taught English speaking classes and writing. In April 2018, at the discretion of Dr. Takaharu Tanaka, ex-president of Hoshi University, he was hired on a three-year contract, with the promise that he would get permanent job if there is no problem.

Everything was fine until March 2020, but suddenly at the end of March he was told by the current president, Dr. Tomoko Nakanishi, that his contract would be terminated. He tried to negotiate through the labor union, but the university would not listen to him, so they decided to hold a labor dispute. At the beginning of the labor hearing, the university insisted on terminating his employment after three years based solely on his contract. However, sooner or later, they claimed that Mr. Stanham did not have enough class sessions. Finally, they used this as a reason to ignore the conclusion of the labor dispute to allow him to continue his employment, and stopped hiring Mr. Stanham.

The university's claim of a shortage of class sessions for Mr. Stanham happened as follows: In the first semester of 2020, all face-to-face classes were cancelled due to the declaration of a state of emergency, and the classes will be held via video streaming.

Because English classes are taught in all six grades, Mr. Stanham has a lot of classes to teach, which inevitably places an enormous burden on him. The university instructed him to create a video to hold the on-demand class. However, Mr. Stanham would not be able to complete the work in time due to the large number of classes he had been teaching.

Mr. Stanham proposed real-time classes using Zoom, but at the first semester of the 2020, the university had banned Zoom due to security risks.

Thus, in the first semester, Mr. Stanham worked more than 300 hours per month. Due to labor law issues, the university notified Mr. Stanham that he should not come to the university as much. However, Mr. Stanham was not able to create a work environment due to the fact that he had a small child at home.

He faced a similar situation in the second semester because the working environment did not improve and he was required to make videos for the first half of the semester. However, in January 2021, they were able to have real-time classes via Zoom, so Mr. Stanham took advantage of this and held a batch of classes in late January. In addition, a recording of this would be distributed near the start of the second semester examinations for those students who could not attend the real-time class.

Then, Mr. Stanham was terminated by the university in March 2021 for inadequate quality and quantity of learning videos and granting credit improperly.

Mr. Stanham contended that the suspension was unfair, and after three rounds of hearings, his appeal was approved and he was granted continued employment. However, the university objected to the decision and moved to litigation.

On July 21, 2021, the second trial was held at the Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 606. The aforementioned background and issues were sorted out. However, it seems that the university wanted to issue a judgment because the settlement was impossible.

The next session will be held on September 22, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 620 of the Tokyo District Court.

Issues and Arguments

  • Was Mr. Stanham's termination of employment justified?
    • the university: Justified. It is as per the contract.
    • Mr. Stanham: Unjustified. No review.
  • Did Mr. Stanham receive any consideration from the university to ensure the quality and quantity of the preparation for the distance class?
    • the university: We were not consulted. Class videos are insufficient in both quality and quantity. He is not qualified to be a teacher.
    • Mr. Stanham: I did not receive any. I was working more than 300 hours a month. I proposed real-time classes via Zoom in the first semester of 2020, but it was banned. I was told to reduce my time at the university. I can't work at home.
  • Is Mr. Stanham's approval of credit justified or unjustified?
    • the university: Inappropriate because it does not meet the format of the number of lessons.
    • Mr. Stanham: What the university is claiming is simply that the specified number of lessons has not been filled, but the Standards for Establishment of Universities require hours, not lessons. Moreover, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) requires universities to be flexible in their response to the COVID-19 disaster, and credit recognition is in that extent. The time and content of the recordings are comparable to those of other teachers and are sufficient. Therefore, credit approval is appropriate.
  • Is Mr. Stanham sufficiently qualified to be a teacher?
    • the university: He has been severely criticized by students for causing trouble. He is not qualified to be a teacher.
    • Mr. Stanham: Good enough. (Evidenced by the fact that 40 students showed up to listen)

Demands

Withdrawal of termination of employment and reinstatement of Mr. Stanham

Signing Activity

We would like to ask you to sign the following petition demanding the withdrawal of the unfair termination of employment by the Hoshi University and the reinstatement of Mr. Stanham.

Your cooperation is highly appreciated.

Signing Form

  • The personal information collected will not be used for any purpose other than this signature activity.
  • We will do our utmost to ensure that the signatories are not disadvantaged.
  • The collected signatures will not be disclosed directly to the university authorities under any circumstances.
  • The use of the information will be given by September 15, 2021 to the head of the labor union, Mr. Kawasaki of the Department of Psychology.

Opinions

A volunteered student who demand the withdrawal of the unfair termination on Mr. Stanham by Hoshi University

The university should conduct a legitimate and objective review of Mr. Stanham, evaluate his work for three years, and fulfill its promise to offer him a permanent job. By extension, I hope that his subsequent treatment will be normal.

To accomplish this, please spread this page by using the share button below the title. The court case is by no means a majority decision, but the university is citing the students.

Now, first, the university evaluates Mr. Stanham based solely on his work in emergency situations and disqualifies him as a teacher.

Next, they cite that the students were overwhelmed and complained, again disqualifying Mr. Stanham as a teacher.

Here, students are just used as a voice and left behind. Students may have raised their voices, to a greater or lesser extent, over the performance of the teleclasses, but was this limited to Mr. Stanham?　The university should be commended for taking into account the state of emergency declared at the time due to the new coronavirus epidemic.

And 300 hours of work per month in the last semester is abnormal. This is more than 100 hours per month for certification of work-related injuries by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. It is understandable that this is not enough to cover all the classes.

In the end, it was not Mr. Stanham who put the burden on the students, but the university. If they want to educate students, the university should provide appropriate sharing and flexibility to maintain the quality and quantity of classes.

It seems that other professors have taken measures such as delaying exams, withdrawing class delivery, changing to report evaluation, etc. I wonder if they are giving the same consideration to Mr. Stanham to reduce his workload. In the first semester of 2020, it was difficult to have an interactive class, but Mr. Stanham was the only one who tried to communicate directly with students via email.

I don't think the university's claim that Mr. Stanham is unqualified and severely criticized as a teacher by students is correct. I don't even understand how they can claim that. The university, in its dishonesty, seems to exaggerate. There are many strange parts in the e-mails about the make-up classes, and I suspect that the university intends for students to be dissatisfied with Mr. Stanham. If the treatment of Mr. Stanham is arbitrary, it is grossly absurd and unkind.

It is often said that children who have experienced abuse from their parents will abuse their children as well. If this is repeated, it is likely that students will be abused in the same way and manner one day.

Lastly, from which source are the court fees paid by the university?　If it is from tuition fees, as a student, I feel it is barren that the university was not satisfied with the outcome of the labor tribunal and moved to litigation. We demand transparency and rationality in the university administration.

Again, please spread this page to various social media. Also, please visit the courtroom.

FAQ

  • Who is Mr. Stanham?
    • He was a lecturer at Hoshi University - College of Pharmacy Liberal Arts Education and Research - International Culture. Detailed biography is here.
  • Does the signature form belong to the university?
    • We do not use the university's Google Workspace, but rather a Google Form with an account owned by the individual.

Hoshi University Top Page
Founding Spirit, Educational Philosophy, and Educational Objectives | University Overview | Hoshi University
Information Disclosure | University Overview | Hoshi University

A student's tweet explaining the circumstances
Tweets from students who attended the trial

Information on universities, graduate schools and colleges of technology: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Guidelines for Dealing with Novel Coronavirus Infections at Universities and Other Institutions (Public Notice) (June 5, 2020)
Points to Note Concerning the Implementation of Remote Lessons at Universities, etc., and the Flexible Handling of Lessons for Practical Training, etc. (May 1, 2020)