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In This Issue

Upcoming Events
Bargaining Update: Health Care Coverage and Gatorcare
Focus on Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Legislative Update
Majority Membership Campaign
Did You Know? Contract Facts and Membership Benefits

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Upcoming Events

Bargaining Update: Health Care Coverage and GatorCare

UFF is monitoring closely the university's plans regarding any changes to healthcare benefits, and we will be consulting with faculty about any desired and/or proposed changes in health care policies. Health care, like other mandatory terms and conditions of employment, must be bargained. Therefore, changes in health care benefits are to be bargained and ratified by a vote of the faculty in the bargaining unit. Article 7.2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement reiterates that right within the current contract: "To the extent required by law, the rights and benefits reflected in this Agreement or by established past practice shall not change absent collective bargaining."

Article 28 specifies the bottom line on the current terms of health care coverage: "Faculty members and members of their immediate family who were eligible for health care coverage under plans offered as of the beginning of the Spring 2008 semester shall remain eligible for that coverage under terms no more restrictive than those in effect as of that time, except when differences are mandated by law."

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

Focus on Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Wednesday February 1st was the third meeting of the Non-Tenure Track (NTT) Faculty workgroup. Highlights of the discussion centered around the annual contract model and a desire to move toward a slightly longer-term contract in an effort to alleviate some concerns of job security.  Equitable pay for summer courses and guaranteed cost-of-living adjustments were also a topic of discussion, as each year that passes puts us further in the salary hole with respect to our peers at other public universities nationwide.

In general, the faculty represented expressed a desire to move towards presenting a unified front to the University administration - a simple move to guarantee that NTT faculty and tenure-track faculty rights and working conditions more closely resemble one another. This is especially timely as our NTT faculty numbers are growing rapidly. We now represent over 30% of the bargaining Unit and our numbers continue to grow. I urge all union members to join us in our fight for a more equitable working environment, and I implore all current non-members to join our cause so that we can speak to the administration with one voice - one very loud voice.

For further information on the NTT Working Group, please contact Christian Russell (crussell12@gmail.com).

Legislative Update: Please Call Your Senator to Stop These Destructive Bills

6% Cut Recommended in Higher Ed Funding for 2012-2013
Marlene O'Toole (R district 42), chairwoman of the House Higher Education Appropriations committee has proposed a 6% cut in higher ed funding for the 2012-2013 budget with the assumption that these cuts would be offset by increases in undergraduate tuition (8%), differential tuition (7%), and an 8% increase for graduate/professional and out-of-state student tuition. House Releases budget proposal.

Outsourcing Florida Higher Education to Utah: PCB HEAS 12-01
The Florida House and Senate are proposing to extend and consolidate post-secondary distance-learning. The House proposal (PCB HEAS 12-01) has a hidden but critical element: a $2.5 million allocation to the Western Governors University (WGU) to facilitate Florida students enrolling in this Utah-based, on-line private university, which charges $6,000 per year per student regardless of the number of credits and has no class rooms. The proposal would spend Florida taxpayers' money to lower the quality of higher education in Florida and outsource education jobs. UFF president, Tom Auxter explains that "when legislators talk about the 'advantages' of this, they often refer to students who started a degree at a Florida university but did not finish"; they are recommending that such students complete their degree through WGU instead of enrolling in the much less expensive on-line courses offered by Florida universities.

More Cuts Planned for the Florida Retirement System
Funded at 80%, the Florida State Retirement System (FRS) is one of the best funded and fiscally sound public employees' retirement plans in the country. Yet Scott is calling for further cuts and arguing that privatization of prisons (SB 2038) is necessary to secure funds to shore up the FRS. He's facing stiff opposition even from Republican senators. Senator Steve Oelrich (R-Alachua), "a long-time member of the FRS," told the Tampa Bay Times that "bringing it up to 100 percent funding is not something advocated by actuaries and would cost billions." He was "taken aback when Scott suggested the reason the state had to save the money on its prisons was because he believes the "retirement system is broke." Proposed cuts to the FRS include pushing new employees into 401K-type plans and increasing benefits for firefighters and police officers by reducing benefits for other public employees, with measures such as extending the vesting period (the number of years of service needed for an employee to have ownership of the benefit even if she/he leaves the employer). Further details on proposed FRS cuts in the next newsletter.

Faculty Rights and Benefits Significantly Eroded in Proposed Legislation
SB 1560 proposes barring faculty from serving in the Legislature, on the contention that it is a conflict of interest for faculty to vote on bills that may favor their own institution. Under this bill, university and college employees will join convicted felons as the only Floridians barred from serving in the Legislature. Florida Legislature: College Professors Need Not Apply.

Two bills (HB 1205 and SB 1358) authorizing mandatory drug testing of public employees have passed through committee and have the Governor's approval. Florida could allow random testing of public workers. Read more about the bills here: HB1205 / SB1358.

How to Take Action
We recommend contacting senators because that is where we have a chance to stop destructive bills. Click on this link and enter your zip code to find your senator.

What kind of message can faculty give to make a difference? Say your name and state that you live in the district and that you want to leave a message for your senator to vote against or oppose a particular bill, budget item, or issue. It is the volume of calls, not the quality of the message that makes the difference. Politeness counts. It takes 30 seconds. Phone calls are most effective; emails are not read or in some cases blocked.

Important: Do not use university or college equipment to call legislators or to forward messages to other faculty. Use a private phone or computer.

If you want to receive FEA legislative updates, please send an email to Sharon Nesvig (Sharon.Nesvig@floridaea.org)

Majority Membership Campaign: Host a UFF Meeting in Your Department

If you would like to discuss faculty concerns, including health insurance and benefit changes as well as legislative issues, UFF leaders would be happy to come to your department to talk with colleagues. UFF can provide lunch or coffee as well as an update and answer questions. These meetings have been very productive for members in Engineering; Design, Construction, and Planning; History; Physics, and PK Yonge. Please email president@uff-uf.org if you are interested.

We need volunteers for the membership campaign. Please click here to sign up.

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, see this online form or email president@uff-uf.org.

Did You Know? Contract Facts and Membership Benefits

CONTRACT FACTS: Assignments (Article 14)
1. Written commitments about assignments are binding.
2. It is a contract violation if your teaching assignment is changed without consulting with you and attempting to accommodate your preferences (see article 14.3).
3. All faculty must be given assignments that offer them equal opportunity with others in their position and rank to fulfill requirements for promotion, tenure, merit raises, and advancement in their career (14.4).

Click Here for the Contract. If you have a question about grievances, write to president@uff-uf.org

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Union membership automatically entitles you to 1 million dollars of professional liability insurance.

Union dues are tax deductible as an itemizable business deduction. This can potentially bring the effective cost of membership down to well below 1% of salary.