UFF-USF

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

USF Polytech.
Discussion of outstanding issues.

Bargaining.
Discussion of outstanding issues.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on July 17, 2010.

Good of the Order.
Discussion of outstanding issues.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on July 15, 2010.

Attendance.
There were thirteen members in attendance, including eleven of the Chapter Council, insufficient for a quorum of the Council. And one guest.

Minutes.
The June 4 minutes were discussed.

Membership.
Discussion of membership.

Impasse & Bargaining.
Discussion of the impasse situation.

Summer Pay.
Discussion of incidents in which the summer pay cap was in appropriately applied.

Grievances.
Discussion of outstanding grievances.

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

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

Impasse.
Discussion.

USF Polytech.
Discussion.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on June 6, 2010.

From UFF President Tom Auxter:

UFF United Faculty of Florida
306 East Park Ave.
Tallahassee, FL  32301

                                                                                                                       
June 2, 2010

Dear Colleague:

Now that the budget is signed, how did higher education fare in this year’s Legislature?  The good news is that we saw an increase of 3.5% in recurring revenue, in spite of a three billion dollar shortfall that forced severe cuts for many state agencies. This compares quite favorably with what happened elsewhere. In other states higher education was not spared cuts, and faculty layoffs are now expected in order to balance the budget.

Legislators are responding positively to our “invest in higher education” campaign. This is our second year of running a campaign that spares or minimizes the damage to higher education in a recession — bucking national trends.  Most legislators now accept the premise that investing in higher education is the fastest and strongest way out of a recession.

But we also faced serious threats to our profession in this legislative session, which could easily undermine progress we otherwise can make by investing in higher education. If faculty had not been successfully united in opposition to a series of bad bills this year, progress in the future could be meaningless. 

When the session began, we found ourselves in the middle of intense attacks on public employees in general and on public educators in particular. As one veteran higher education advocate put it, “They are coming at us from all directions.” It is amazing we were finally able to fend off these attacks, but we can fully expect they will continue in next year’s session.

In this year’s session legislators introduced a bill to cut all public employee salaries by 3%. There were 30 bills filed to cut public employee pensions.  (One of them cuts pensions by as much as half.) Another bill would eliminate the health insurance subsidy ($1800 annually) for retired public employees.

In addition, we saw intense attacks on tenure and the retention of experienced K-12 teachers (SB 6) — with reverberations across the nation. The attacks were primarily about changing both the criteria for evaluation of performance and the conditions for retention. Legislators were looking for a way to phase out more highly paid teachers with credentials and replace them with cheaper, inexperienced teachers they thought would be ready to teach with an eye on test scores.

In place of credentials and experience, politicians in the legislative leadership decided that improving student scores on standardized tests would now be the way to reward teachers for merit.  Advanced degrees in specializations like math and science would be discouraged because teachers could no longer pay back heavy education debts with additional salary compensation provided when they finished degrees. In other words, we would dummy down the content of the curriculum with no reward for anything except coaching students on how to improve test scores. Although K-12 teachers were the ones targeted in SB 6, it is clear that faculty would be on the chopping block next.

All of this is the brain-child of Jeb Bush and Senator John Thrasher (now chair of the state Republican Party). They teamed up once before (in 2001) in a failed attempt to abolish the collective bargaining contracts that protect faculty rights to due process, academic freedom, and retention based on credentials and experience.

Against the odds, faculty prevailed — in the midst of sustained attacks by legislators in leadership positions:

1. We defeated the 3% salary cut at the last minute in legislative conference.

2. We defeated all 30 bills limiting pensions and health insurance subsidies. 

3. We even defeated SB 6 — with the help of a veto by Governor Charlie Crist.

How is this possible? It happened because faculty joined forces with public employees and with teachers to make it happen. We contacted legislators in their district offices and made sure they heard our voices. Faculty actively became advocates for higher education — joining efforts by our affiliate, the Florida Education Association, and gaining recognition for our concerns.

We defeated bills that would have seriously damaged our profession. For our entire profession, it has been a life and death struggle.

The struggle is not over. The same politicians that launched a devious plan this year to rob public education of its status as a profession will be back again next year — with more plans and perhaps with a Governor who will back them.

Join us in the fight to defend the values at the heart of our profession. We need the full support of all faculty to stop the attacks. 

Sign the form* to join United Faculty of Florida. The 1% membership already paid for itself three times over when we stopped the 3% salary reduction this year.  Join your colleagues in the struggle for our professional future.

Our strength is in our membership. Every member counts.

Sincerely,

Tom Auxter

President, United Faculty of Florida

*The membership form can be found at http://faculty.ourusf.org/join-uff/ — Join us today.

Yesterday, Senior Vice Provost sent an e-mail to all faculty in Academic Affairs-Tampa as follows:

Complaints have been received that some faculty are scheduling make-up classes during the summer term for days missed due to an official holiday. This year’s summer terms have two holidays, Memorial Day and Fourth of July, that occur on week days.

University and Collective Bargaining Agreement regulations specify that faculty members cannot be required to schedule classes to make up for those falling on a holiday; further, faculty members cannot require students to attend make-up classes for those falling on a holiday. The implication for those who are teaching in the summer is that courses must be planned with the knowledge that class days falling on a holiday cannot be rescheduled.

Chairs – please be sure to distribute this information to adjunct and graduate instructors who are teaching this summer.

Dr. Smith is correct in reading the contract language. The following language is from Article 17.5 of the collective bargaining agreement between UFF and the USF Board of Trustees:

An employee shall be entitled to observe all official holidays designated as holidays by the University, which shall at a minimum include those holidays designated in Fla. Stat. Section 110.117. No classes shall be scheduled on designated holidays. Classes not held because of a holiday shall not be rescheduled [emphasis added].

Faculty have a number of options to handle Monday classes in this summer’s term (or for any class cancelled because of holidays), including the following:

• Holding optional makeup classes.
• Providing assignments that are instructionally useful but do not require scheduled class time (such as intense work on individual projects, fieldwork scheduled by the student, etc.).
• Providing material on Blackboard that students can access outside scheduled class time.

The choices of how to adjust to holidays–or any cancellation of classes (think hurricanes and flu)–should remain with the instructor for the class according to her or his best professional judgment.

Attendance.
There were nine members in attendance, including eight of the Chapter Council, insufficient for a quorum of the Council. And one guest.

Grievances.
Discussion.

Bargaining.
Discussion.

Political Action.
Discussion.

State Policy.
Discussion.

Membership.
Discussion.

Affiliates.
The Chapter historically has assisted in paying expenses for Chapter members to attend affiliate meetings.

• Motion made and seconded: to reimburse nonrefundable airfare for one member who was scheduled to attend the NCHE/AFT/NEA meeting in San Jose this spring but had to cancel because of a medical emergency. Motion approved.

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

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.