UFF-USF

August 24 chapter meeting, 12 noon, EDU 413
(more…)

In attendance: J. Martin, S. Dorn, M. Klisch, R. Weatherford, B. Welker, S. Ramírez Wohlmuth, M. Kaplan, F. Burgos, A. Shapiro, B. Frank

(more…)

UFF/USF Chapter Meeting

June 8, 2007

CDB’s

In attendance: S. Dorn, B. Welker, J. Martin, S. Ramírez Wohlmuth, M. Kaplan, M. Klisch, J. Noonan, B. Frank

(more…)

The following was sent to the members’ e-mail list:

Dear colleagues,

As you prepare for the start of the fall semester, I want to welcome you back and provide you information about the state budget and expected mid-year cuts. (more…)

If you are a new faculty member or professional employee at USF, please accept my and the chapter’s welcome. The United Faculty of Florida is your union, and we’re glad you’re here. We hope you find USF a congenial place to work, and we hope to see you at a chapter meeting sometime this fall.

If you have not worked or studied at a unionized university, you should know a few things about the United Faculty of Florida:

• The United Faculty of Florida represents us and our colleagues at all Florida public universities, 8 of the community colleges, and one private college because most faculty at Florida’s public universities chose union representation in an election in 1976, and faculty have chosen UFF at several points since.
• The United Faculty of Florida bargains on our behalf for a single Collective Bargaining Agreement that protects the rights of everyone in the unit. The collective bargaining agreement includes provisions on academic freedom, intellectual property, promotion and tenure procedures, annual reviews, salaries, sabbaticals, and many others. To the right, you can click to read the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and “reopeners” that have covered salaries between 2004 and the present.
• The United Faculty of Florida has the legal obligation to enforce the collective bargaining agreement. When the university has violated the contract, the chapter can represent individuals in grievances. This avoids the expense of lawsuits and can often resolve issues informally.
• The faculty union also operates in a democratic manner. The USF chapter has biweekly meetings during the year, when all members present at the meeting participate in decision-making. The USF chapter also holds annual elections for officers and for representatives to the statewide governing body, the United Faculty of Florida Senate.
• The United Faculty of Florida also represents faculty interests in public, educating the public and policymakers about how higher education works. We successfully fought a 2005 state legislative bill that would have damaged academic freedom, and the statewide union is committed to improving higher education funding and insulating universities from untoward political pressures.

JOINING: You do not automatically join the union. You need to fill out a form and send it in (campus mail address: 30238 USF Holly Drive) to join and start dues deductions. There are some specific benefits of membership (including two professional liability insurance policies), but the most important reason to join is to work together to protected our shared values and interests.