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In This Issue

Upcoming Events
Arbitration Settlement: Summer Pay Faculty Bylaws
Legislative Update
Majority Membership Campaign
Chapter News: UFF-UF Nominations
Union Membership Has Great Benefits

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Upcoming Events

Bargaining and Grievance News: Arbitration Settlement regarding Summer Pay Faculty Bylaws

In previous contracts, summer pay was based on the principle that a course in the summer is worth the same as an equivalent course during the academic year because in all semesters students are paying the same tuition and getting the same credit hours, the state is paying the same per student credit hour, and faculty are doing the same amount of work. As part of the current faculty contract and in light of budget reductions, the union and the university agreed to develop some flexibility in summer compensation plans with the faculty of individual colleges as long as there was no loss of important benefits, such as retirement. A college plan had to be consistent with the rest of the contract and could be implemented only if a majority of the members of the college supported it in a secret-ballot vote.

In March 2011, when UFF was notified about the ways colleges intended to pay for work in summer 2011 and succeeding years, we found that many of the plans had not been developed in the way agreed and were not consistent with the contract. For example, by not being paid in salary dollars, faculty were not receiving retirement benefits or credit. In the defined benefit program, if compensation for the course is not in salary dollars, it is not added as part of the yearly compensation in determining the average of the five highest years; in the optional program, the faculty member loses the university/state contribution to his/her retirement fund. We had been in previous consultations with the university concerning these matters, but no progress was made until we filed a chapter grievance and finally reached arbitration this past fall. Right before the arbitration hearing, we were able to resolve many of the differences with the University. The resolution requires payment in salary dollars (so faculty retain their retirement benefits), and for implementation in 2013 the support of a majority as determined by a secret-ballot vote of the unit's members, unless the provisions governing summer compensation are renegotiated before then. Two colleges have to vote on plans for summer 2012, and once the majority of the faculty of those units support a plan, it will go into effect. This is an opportunity for faculty to create a locally appropriate and just summer pay plan.

If you have any questions, please contact John Leavey or John Biro.

Legislative Update

The Republican leadership is likely to try to pass a bill in this legislative session that would require a minimum of 50% membership for public employee unions. In fact, Senate leader John Thrasher has announced that his goal is to get unions out of the way to facilitate "reforming" public employee benefits and education. Last spring, public employee unions across the state worked together to stop a version of this bill (SB 1023) and gained support of just enough senators to stop the bill from coming to the floor.

While the threat to collective bargaining remains urgent, Scott's plans for radically reforming the University and College systems with measures such as abolishing tenure and multi-year contracts may no longer be top priorities for the Florida Legislature, or so suggests the St Augustine Record which has just reported that such reforms may be postponed until the 2013 legislative session. A recent article in the Gainesville Sun also suggests that the governor may be signaling a delay. This would represent a victory for UFF and supporters of Higher Ed, who spent the fall working hard to stop those "reforms," and reflects the fact that as UFF chapters have grown across the state, we have been able to exert more political clout. And we need to continue to grow and keep up the pressure on legislators to make sure these "reforms" stay off the agenda. The stronger UFF becomes, the less likely we are to see these kinds of attacks on higher education and college bargaining in the future.UFF and the Higher Ed lobbying team at the FEA will continue to watch the legislative process closely, so stay tuned for new developments.

Panel OKs Ban on Professors in Florida Legislature

TALLAHASSEE (the Associated Press): A bill that would prohibit state college and university employees and contractors from serving in the Florida Legislature is still alive - but just barely. The Senate Rules Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections approved the measure (SB 1560) on a 7-6 vote Monday. Senator John Thrasher said the bill he's sponsoring would prevent conflicts such as lawmakers voting on budget provisions that benefit the schools that employ them. The most notorious example is Ray Sansom. He resigned as House speaker in 2009 and eventually from the Legislature after taking a job at a state college. Sansom was hired after funneling millions to the school as House budget chairman. Opponents said the bill is discriminatory because public school employees, bankers, lawyers and others also face potential conflicts as lawmakers.

Majority Membership Campaign Update

Last semester, we reached 42% membership or 700 members. In January 2011, we had roughly 23% or 400 members. To be secure against legislation like HB 1023 we need a clear majority of 55% or approximately 235 new members. Roughly 100 union members recruited these new members with the help of professional organizers (Candi Churchill, Diana Moreno, Joe Richard, and Valerie Wilk of the NEA).

We need your participation because faculty asking their colleagues to join and explaining why they value the union remains the most effective and often the only way to recruit new members. Sign-up for the UFF-UF membership drive here.

If you are not member, please join today using our membership form so that faculty have a strong voice in Tallahassee and also at the bargaining table here at UF.

Chapter News: Nominations

Help shape UFF-UF's future. We need our union officers to reflect our newly expanded membership, and we need UFF-UF's voice represented in UFF and FEA at the state level. Elections for UFF-UF officers take place at the membership dinner on February 23. Offices include president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, UFF senators, and FEA delegates.

To see an explanation of the offices and their duties, and to nominate yourself, go to this online form or email president@uff-uf.org.

Union Membership Has Great Benefits

A very popular benefit is for mortgage, which is available not only to the members, but also their children and their parents! Members gets special competitive rates, special programs for first-time buyers, cap on closing fees and other benefits - now that will pay much more than the 1%!.