Expletive Deleted

Our Local union president has contacted all the department and program chairs around campus and asked if we can send someone (or two) to a department/program meeting to talk about the union and gather some feedback.  We've done some, and mostly gotten good feedback, and a few new members.

The other day, the President asked who could make a meeting this week with basically last minute notice.  And it just so happens I can.  So I said I could, and that got me included in some emails from the department chair to the members of the department:

As you might recall from yesterday’s email, we will not have a faculty meeting tomorrow due to me being out of town.

A few weeks ago [Union Pres], representing the faculty staff union, requested time to talk to [the department] faculty/staff during a faculty meeting.  I did not grant that request because I want to guard faculty meeting time to discuss departmental business.  That said I do not want to apply my filter and position to block access to faculty/staff input on a variety of topics.  In looking for a win-win, [Bardiac] will be available to discuss issues the union deem important with interested faculty/staff at the time we would have met tomorrow.

I have to say, the tone of this sounds [expletive deleted].  Or is it just me?

So it's not a real meeting, and people were already told that they didn't need to be there (and so no doubt planned accordingly) and then they're told basically that the chair doesn't like the Union but doesn't want to "block access" so they can meet with me if they want.

I wonder if anyone will come, or if I'll just sit there alone in the meeting room wishing I were somewhere else?

(My experience with this person is that he's an [expletive deleted, expletive deleted] from other contexts.  No doubt, he thinks even worse of me.)