UFF-USF

Attendance.
The meeting was at USF-Polytechnic. There were ten people in attendance, including six of the Chapter Council, insufficient for a quorum of the Council.

Agenda.
The agenda were approved.

USF Polytechnic Affairs.
Several issues were discussed

• Discussion of tenure & promotion proposals.
• Annual evaluations: broad discussion.

Instructor Promotion Track.
Discussion.

Grievances.
Discussion.

• Motion made & seconded: To send a copy of the PERC Notice to Employees, with synopsis by S. Dorn, as a flier to all USF employees. Motion approved.

Rebate Case.
A member of the unit joined UFF before the fall semester and resigned in December.

• Motion made and seconded: That the member shall be provided with a rebate no more than $ 300 or total dues paid. Motion approved.

Bargaining.
Next bargaining session scheduled for Friday, May 14.

Political Action.
Some UFF members will participate in a fundraiser for Alex Sink on May 8.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on May 9, 2010.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Attendance.
There were thirteen people in attendance, including eleven of the Chapter Council, insufficient for a quorum of the Council.

Minutes & Agenda.
The minutes and agenda were approved.

Membership.
Discussion of rebate policy.

• Motion made & seconded: to continue the rebate program indefinitely, but the status and amounts shall be reported to the Chapter at the end of each spring semester. Motion approved.
• Motion made & seconded on the interpretation of the preceding motion: that when UFF participates in the three-for-free program, that the rebate shall come at the end of the first semester during which new members paid dues. Motion approved.
• The Communications Committee shall publicize this program at the beginning of each session.

Alternates and the Chapter Council.
The issue of how alternates are chosen, and whether (or which) alternates should be members of the Chapter Council, may be revisited later.

National Meetings.
As a general rule, when the Chapter sends members to national meetings, the Chapter reimburses expenses not covered by national organizations.

Legislative Session.
Discussion.

Reports.

• Bargaining iscussion of current bargaining.
  • Motion made and seconded: that the UFF-USF Chapter membership recommends that there be no ratification vote of the complete Collective Bargaining Agreement when a significant portion of the bargaining unit has no assignment, e.g., summer, unless under extraordinary circumstances. Motion approved.
• Grievances: Discussion.
• Treasury: We are solvent.
• Communications: Work continues on the website.
  • Motion made from Communications Committee: authorizing the expenditure of 39 euros for the purchase of mail software for site. Motion made and seconded.
• President’s Report: at end of session, president reports to the chapter. Primary topics: membership was increased, there were no layoffs, the legislature may allocate money, we are processing and winning grievances, and in bargaining we have won domestic partner benefits and the instructor track.
• Political Action Committee: activity supporting Alex Sink.

Good of the Order.
Discussion of INTO.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on April 25, 2010.

April 20, 2010. Fate of faculty pensions could be decided in a Conference Committee meeting to take place on Wednesday, April 21, Let legislators know you don’t want FRS altered!

Dear Colleague:
It is possible the Legislature could decide on the fate of faculty pensions tomorrow in a meeting of the Conference Committee, which makes the final decisions. Contact your legislators now.
See below for contact information and an update from our affiliate, the Florida Education Association.
Tom Auxter
President, United Faculty of Florida

Conference Committees began meeting yesterday, April 19, 2010 and are scheduled to continue meeting into the coming weekend.  We are still hearing only rumor and innuendo regarding how Conferees will handle FRS retirement issues.  FEA continues to closely monitor retirement issues pending in the remaining two weeks of the 2010 Session of the Florida Legislature.

This morning the Government Operations Conference Committee held a meeting where Conferees indicated that they were informed that the health insurance subsidy bill, H.B.5701 (Rep. Rivera, R-112, Miami), and the FRS bill, SB 2022 (Senator J.D. Alexander, R-17, Lake Wales), will be bumped to the overall Conference Chairs.  The Conference Committee meeting schedule released yesterday shows that outstanding conference issues will be bumped to overall Conference Chairs on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.  And by the way, the overall Conference Chairs happen to be Sen. Alexander and Rep. Rivera.

You help is still needed throughout these Conference Committee meetings.  Keep the pressure on your legislators about these issues by calling or emailing to let them know that they must defend and protect the public employee participants in the Florida Retirement System.

Contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them to oppose any changes to FRS retirement benefits.  Urge your Legislators to tell Conference Committee members not to balance the budget on the backs of public employees and retirees.

Urge your Legislators to tell Conference Committee members that they are opposed to any changes to FRS retirement benefits.

Senators:   To find your Senators, go to www.flsenate.gov and look for “Find Your Legislators” at the bottom of the menu on the left side of the web site.

Representatives:   To find your Representatives, go to www.myfloridahouse.gov and click on the heading that reads “Find Your Representative” right below the blue bar and the red bar at the top of the page.

Attendance.
There were fourteen people in attendance, including thirteen of the Chapter Council, insufficient for a quorum of the Council.

Minutes & Agenda.
The minutes and agenda were approved.

Membership.
Discussion.

Legislative Session.
Current priorities: SB 6 / HB 7189 “Relating to Education Personnel”, and the cluster of bills relating to the Florida Retirement System, primarily HB 1319, and SB 1902.

Officers and Representatives of the Chapter.
Under Article IV, Section 3 of the UFF-USF Constitution, the Chapter Council consists of elected officers, senators and alternate senators, and committee chairs (although it is not clear if the latter have voting status).

• Following past practice, write-in candidates for Senator were reported as Alternates (when they failed to gain sufficient votes to qualify as Senators). It was proposed that all such candidates be asked if they wish to serve, and those that will be USF employees and give a positive answer shall serve as Alternates and as members of the Chapter Council.
• The following were the results of the spring chapter election:
  • The Chapter Officers are: President Sherman Dorn, Vice President Sonia Wohlmuth, Treasurer Paul Terry, Secretary Gregory McColm.
  • The Senators are: Kevin Archer, Heide Casteneda, J. Lynn McBrien, Gregory McColm, Patricia McHatton, Jerry Notaro, Eric Odgaard, Victor Peppard, Ella Schmidt, Arthur Shapiro, Paul Terry, Bob Welker, Keith White, and Sonia Ramirez Wohlmuth.
  • The Alternate Senators are: David Allsop, Nancy Anderson, C. David Frankel, Susan Hurley, Celina Jozsi, Marvin Karlins, Mark Klisch, Mile Krajcevski, Sang-Hie Lee, William Murray, John Napora, John Noonan, Steve Permuth, Nancy Tyson, and Harry Vanden.
  • The FEA Delegates are: Sherman Dorn, Gregory McColm, Jerry Notaro, Eric Odgaard, Arthur Shapiro, Paul Terry, and Keith White.
  • The Alternate Delegates are Steve Permuth and Harry Vanden.
• The President shall endeavor to set up meetings of the Council. One may be scheduled for Friday, April 23, at 10 am.

Reports.

• Treasury: We are solvent.
• Grievances: Discussion.
  • Motion made and seconded: that the USF/UFF maximize exposure of the ULP settlement and PERC ruling regarding Dr. Paul Terry to include, but not be limited to, formal notice to all unit employees and all appropriate legal entities on all campuses of USF. Without objection, motion carried.
• Bargaining: Discussion. Requested entry in the minutes: It is requested that each campus be represented by at least one member of the Bargaining Committee. Note: this is a consideration for the Chair of the Bargaining Committee and the Chapter Council.
• Communications:The Communications Committee will be reviewing all aspects of communications, and requests that the Chapter and the Chapter Committees and Council attend to the process.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on April 10, 2010.

Chapter agenda draft, April 9, noon, SOC 384, Tampa campus

A. Minutes
B. Membership
C. New officers and council members
D. Legislative session
E. Reports
F. For the good of the order

Below is the text of an unauthorized e-mail that was distributed earlier today:

BIWEEKLY EXTRA
UNTIED FACULTY OF ROFLDIA

April 1, 2010

CHAPTER OFFICERS BEGIN ONE-YEAR TERMS AND IMMEDIATELY SCREAM
April 1 is the starting date for one-year terms for all UFF-USF chapter officers. President Sherman Dorn, Vice President Sonia Wohlmuth, Secretary Greg McColm, and Treasurer Paul Terry were sworn in at a midnight ceremony, and they immediately swore back after looking at the state’s financial outlook.

UFR AND USF AGREE TO MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON CATS
The Untied Faculty of Rofldia and the USF Board of Trustees agreed late Wednesday evening on a Memorandum of Understanding that would give cats at USF a form of tenure. “This isn’t just any cat,” explained UFR Chapter President Sherm Dorm. “It’s a cat that’s proven itself worthy of tenure at a Research 1 university.”

FLORIDA RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO BE REPLACED BY ROULETTE WHEEL
Among the bills filed in the Florida legislature this year is one that would require retirees in FRS to put half of their retirement savings on double-zero (00) on a standard roulette wheel. “It’s more exciting than bingo!” said sponsor W.C. Chilblains. For other bills filed this year that would affect FRS, see the DMS’s FRS-bill watch page. Watch especially HB 5701 (eliminating health subsidies for retirees) and SB 2022 (requiring employee contributions to both FRS and ORP), each of which has been approved by its primary sponsor’s chamber.

UFR does not generally approve of your sending your dog to chew on your senators’ and representatives’ office furniture. Calling, identifying the bill in question, and registering your opinion is usually more effective.

TALLAHASSEE MOVING
A little-noticed provision of the senate’s proposed state budget would move the entire city of Tallahassee and most state offices out of Leon County, to Polk County. “How’d that get in there?” a state senator was heard to mutter late Wednesday night after voting for the budget package.

I-4 BUSINESS LEADERS LOOKING TO BRING 2018 WINTER GAMES TO CENTRAL FLORIDA
Business and government officials from ten central Florida counties promised Wednesday that they would work “like the dickens” to bring the 2018 winter Olympic games to the Sunshine State. Said one business owner, “We saw that Florida temperatures this January were colder than in Vancouver and sometimes colder than St. Johns, Newfoundland. It’s worth a shot!” To accomplish this, they promised to work to create 128 new athletic facilities. “It would only cost two bazookazillion dollars,” said one county commissioner, “and they can always be used later to hold political fundraisers or college classes.”

TWITTER COURSE REQUIREMENT
Starting in August, the state’s Gordon Rule Communications course requirement is being replaced by a mandated course on Twitter Communications. All papers will be 140 characters or less.

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUIZ
If you can figure out the hidden pattern in today’s date (04012010) and correctly predict the sequence out to the 200,000th digit, you can win an iPad. (Multiple correct answers will have a winner selected at random.) Submit answers by 5 am today (Thursday, April 1).

DON’T BE A FOOL: JOIN UFF! The United Faculty of Florida (the real thing) can represent only members in grievances. Membership brings professional liability coverage from both national affiliates. You must be a dues-paying member to benefit: download the form and send it in!

Today’s special Biweekly Extra has been hijacked by a frenemy of the usual editor. Sanity will return next week. Well, in the Biweekly at least; no guarantees about the rest of the state.

Attendance.
There were ten people in attendance, including eight of the Chapter Council, insufficient for a quorum of the Council.

Agenda.
This meeting is to consist of a discussion of the legislative situation.

The Legislative Session.
In addition to the budget, there are two items of great concern now before the legislature:

• HB 1543 and SB 1902 would increase employee liabilities and reduce employee benefits as participants in the Florida Retirement System. It would also affect Optional Retirement Plan participants.
• SB 6 would impose terms and conditions of employment upon school districts across the state, these being to make teachers more subject to administrative caprice and background noise of student assessments. It would also impose considerable burdens on the colleges of education.

Discussion of efforts to show legislators the dangers of these bills, including virtual Rally in Tally on Thursday, March 25.

Reports.

• Communications: There will be an Extra on March 24 on Rally in Tally; discussion of upcoming Uncommon Sense.
• Grievances: Discussion of a recently resolved grievance.
• Treasury: We are solvent.
• Services: Preparing for fall.
• President’s Report: Instructor track MOU ratified by faculty but not yet by BOT.

Good of Order.
Problems with the tenure process.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on March 20, 2010.

Attendance.
There were twelve people in attendance, including eight of the Chapter Council, insufficient for a quorum of the Council.

Agenda & Minutes.
The Agenda and the minutes for February 19 were approved.

Next Meeting.
The meeting schedule was adjusted:

• Motion made and seconded: That the March 19 meeting be at Tampa, to be announced in a Biweekly Extra, and that the March 26 meeting be canceled, and that the Election meeting be on March 26 from 1 pm to 2 pm in SOC 384 to count ballots. Motion approved.

Membership.
One new member, and one left for financial reasons.

Workload as a Legal Issue.
Last October, Senior Vice Provost issued a directive stating that no class assignment can be made with over 8.33 % FTE per credit hour. Disscussion.

Reports.

• President’s report: Current draft of House budget has a 3.5 % cut for SUS.
• Grievances: Discussion of outstanding grievances.
• Bargaining: Discussion of bargainng.
• Treasury: We are solvent.
• Communications Discussion of reports that administrators are telling faculty that the CBA is foisted on university by UFF.

Good of Order.
Two issues:

• Some faculty are not receiving central administration broadcasts.
• Motion made and seconded: That the president of the chapter request in consultation for a seminar or presentation regarding the use of accumulated sick leave, in reference to FMLA, from Human Relations. Motion approved unanimously.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on March 13, 2010.

March 5: Below are an e-mail circulated by HR Friday and a Word version of the application attached to the e-mail:

• HR e-mail March 5, 2010
• Retirement Incentive Application (March 5 distribution, Word version)

February 17: Below are the documents for the Early Retirement Incentive program, downloaded for the USF St. Pete HR website:

• ERI description and guidelines
• Early Retirement application (PDF version)
  
• Early Retirement Settlement Agreement
• FAQs: ERI FAQ 1 and ERI FAQ 2

Interested employees in the faculty pay plan should contact Donna Pepper for more information (813-974-9357, dpepper@admin.usf.edu).

The ballots are in the mail to chapter members for the chapter elections. You can read the UFF-USF chapter candidate statements (PDF) here. Note: due to a printer’s error, the ballot itself was not printed on blue paper but on white paper. Please complete both sides and return! (Put in the smaller envelope, seal without marking, and then put the unmarked small envelope into the addressed #10 envelope. Seal, print and sign your name on the front, and mail in.)