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Current Status
The
2010 - 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement
was ratified in an on-line referendum.
See the
September 25 Biweekly Extra
for the announcement.
This agreement will remain in force until summer 2013; notice that bargaining is to begin by the beginning
of 2013.
United Faculty of Florida Bargains, Spring & Summer 2010
At the beginning of the spring semester, 2010, the UFF-USF Bargaining Team began posting proposals
presented by the UFF and BOT bargaining teams in negotiating a successor to the 2008 - 2009
Collective Bargaining Agreement, which determines the (legal) terms and conditions of employment
of employees within the UFF Bargaining Unit at the University of South Florida.
This new policy was precipitated in part by the strong reaction to a proposal of November 20 by
the BOT Bargaining Team for new language on Article 13 on layoffs.
It was the view of the UFF Bargaining Team and the UFF Leadership that the proposal entailed a sweeping
curtailment of tenure.
In particular, the proposed text for 13.2(a) would permit the USF Administration to define a layoff unit
consisting of one person, and thus allow an astonishing discretion in laying off faculty -- including
tenured faculty.
The immediate response of the UFF Bargaining Team was to reject the proposal.
Subsequently, on January 8, the UFF-USF Chapter resolved that the proposal be posted, and
here is the November 20, 2009 BOT proposal on Article 13.
And henceforth, all proposals on both sides are to be posted here during bargaining.
One important factor: these documents are not in any way confidential.
Under Florida law, bargaining between a public entity like USF and a recognized union like UFF must be
open to the public, and proposals are public documents.
Any member of the public has the right to request copies of such documents from the
USF General Counsel;
that goes for bargaining proposals presented at bargaining between the USF Board of Trustees and any
of the unions at USF.
About these pages.
All postings are of PDF documents; those of UFF-USF proposals are converted from electronic files,
while those of BOT-USF proposals are scanned.
Changes from language of the current contract are indicated by underlining proposed new language and lines
through proposed deletions.
Typically, bargaining goes article by article, and both sides must approve an article before both
chief negotiators sign -- i.e., tentatively agree to -- the article.
Once an entire contract is thus "TA'd", the proposed contract must then be ratified by both the
employees of the UFF-UFF Bargaining Unit and by the Board of Trustees in order to come into force.
Ratification
The Collective Bargaining Agreement that was Tentatively Agreed to requires ratification by both the employees
of the UFF-USF Bargaining Unit and the Board of Trustees to come into force.
Voting is underway and will continue until the end of business October 5.
For more information, see the
September 25 Biweekly Extra
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The individual articles of the contract are described, with links to scanned copies, at
the ratification page.
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UFF-USF Chapter President Sherman Dorn and statewide UFF Executive Director Ed Mitchell recommend that
UFF-USF employees vote to ratify this agreement.
The UFF-USF Bargaining Team makes no recommendation.
Voting instructions are on the fuchsia (bright pink) voting instructions UFF-USF employees received during the
ratification of the Memorandum of Understanding on sabbaticals and awards earlier this month; for those
employees unable to locate their voting instructions, another set is being mailed and should be arriving in
mail boxes by the weekend prior to October 5.
Impasse Hearing Leads to a Contract
On September 15, the impasse hearing before the Special Magistrate began, and continued until the afternoon of
September 16, when both sides (encouraged by the Special Magistrate) signed a list of items on the remaining
articles:
- The items are
posted on-line, and included no changes in the current language for Article 13 on layoffs and recalls.
- The Bargaining Teams met on September 24, when the remaining issues were resolved.
The list and the Collective Bargaining Agreement were signed by UFF Executive Director Ed Mitchell and BOT
Chief Negotiator John Dickinson.
The proposed contract is
posted on the Ratification Page.
The BOT Emails a Proposal on September 9
On September 9, the Board of Trustees emailed a 14M file containing a
Proposal on Articles 3, 8, 9, 13, and 23
(signatures redacted) to the UFF.
Memorandum of Understanding Ratified
During September 7 - 9, members of the UFF-USF Bargaining Unit voted overwhelmingly to vote in favor of
ratifying the
Memorandum of Understanding
on sabbaticals and awards.
The Impasse Hearing
The hearing scheduled for August 26, 27 has been postponed at the request of the Board of Trustees.
It is currently scheduled for September 15 - 17.
UFF's Letter to the Special Magistrate
On August 5, UFF sent a
letter to Special Magistrate Jared Simmer
enumerating the issues UFF intends to present and UFF's position on those issues.
Actions at the July 16, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and the BOT teams met on Friday, July 16.
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The UFF presented a
package
proposing no change on Article 3 (on union privileges) and Article 13 (on layoffs), but with adjustments (essentially clarifications
and specifications) in Article 8 (on appointments), Article 9 (on assignments), and Article 23 (on salary raises); and proposing
that the contract cover 2009 to 2012.
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The BOT protested the proposed adjustments, and the UFF responded saying that the UFF was willing to discuss them and was amenable to
compromise on this new package, but only in the context of all outstanding issues, in particular the BOT's repeated demands for changes
in the current language on layoffs (in Article 13), instructor promotion raises and the (duration of the) summer cap (in Article 8),
and course releases (in Article 3).
Usually, when a proposal is placed on the table, the proposer goes through the high points, but when UFF presented this proposal, the
UFF's Chief Negotiator was only half-way through when the BOT said that that was enough.
After a frank and candid exchange of views, both sides retired to caucus, and during that time, one of the BOT's team came to inform us
that the BOT's team was leaving.
No time for a subsequent meeting was set, but UFF's door is always open; at present, all that remains are Articles 3, 8, 9, 13, 23, and
29.
Actions at the July 2, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT teams met on Friday, July 2.
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In the morning, the parties Tentatively Agreed [signatures redacted]
to the current language on Article 20 (on grievances) and Article 26 (on benefits), and adjustments to Article 14 (on promotion procedures)
and Article 16 (on disciplinary action and job abandonment).
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The UFF presented a package proposal for the
remaining parts of the contract on UFF privileges, assignments, layoff and recall, appointments, promotion and other pay raises, and the
duration of the contract. There was brief discussion about these items before a lunch break.
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After lunch, UFF presented a
second version of
the package. There was extensive discussion and caucusing around these issues.
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Towards the end of the session, the UFF presented modified proposals on
Articles 3 and 8
and
Article 29 on the duration of the contract along with a verbal proposal to package that with the pieces of the second package proposal
on the remaining articles (9, 13, and 23).
The BOT made no proposals of their own.
At the end of the session, there was no agreement on any of the remaining articles.
Actions at the June 25, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT bargaining teams met on Friday, June 25.
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First UFF presented a
proposal to accept most of the 2008
- 2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement language without change [signatures and initials in this scanned
copy redacted), and then the UFF and BOT chief negotiators Tentatively Agreed to the 2008 -
2009 CBA language on all articles except Articles 3, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16, 20, 22 (already Tentatively
Agreed to on March 5), 23, 26, and 29, and Appendix E.
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Then, the BOT presented a
Proposal on Article 23 (salaries).
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The UFF presented a
response, including our position on salaries, and proposing using the language from the 2008 - 2009
Collective Bargaining Agreement for seven articles (including the two cited in the BOT's letter of
impasse -- but agreeing to a summer cap for 2011).
After some discussion, the BOT withdrew their proposal, leaving the UFF proposal the only salary proposal
on the table.
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Then the UFF presented a proposal for a
Memorandum of Understanding on sabbaticals, and on compensation for faculty achievement awards.
The two chief negotiators Tentatively Agreed to this Memorandum, which is to be presented to the
Bargaining Unit and to the Board for ratification (by the Bargaining Unit and the Board, this summer
when logistics are worked out).
The two teams agreed to schedule the next bargaining session on Friday, July 2, in SVC 2070; under Florida
state law, bargaining sessions are open to the public.
Since this is summertime, there are logistical issues in organizing a ratification vote on the Memorandum.
Letters sent on June 1, 2010
On June 1, the BOT sent a
Letter of Impasse
to UFF and to the Public Employees Relations Commission.
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The BOT team also sent an
Important Labor Relations Message
to all faculty.
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And the BOT team sent an email to UFF Chief Negotiator saying that they were ready to start negotiating Article 23 after all.
Actions at the May 14, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT bargaining teams met on Friday, May 14.
Actions at the April 16, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT bargaining teams met on Friday, April 9.
Actions at the April 9, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT bargaining teams met on Friday, April 9.
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The UFF Bargaining Team presented a proposal for
Tentatively Agreeing on current language for all but articles 8, 14, 22, 23, 24, and 29, and proposing a Memorandum
of Understanding on Article 8.
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The BOT Bargaining Team presented a proposal for
Tentatively Agreeing on current language for all but articles 3, 8, 13, 14, 22, 23, 24, and 29 and a
Memorandum of Understanding on Article 8.
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The UFF Bargaining Team presented a proposal for
Tentatively Agreeing on current language for all but articles 8, 14, 22, 23, 24, and 29, and proposing a Memorandum
of Understanding on Article 8.
The BOT team did not return after the last breakout session due to miscommunication.
Actions at the March 26, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT bargaining teams met on Friday, March 26.
The two teams is tentatively scheduled for April 9.
Actions at the March 5, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT bargaining teams met on Friday, March 5.
After some discussions about unpackaging of packages, and other possible modifications, we agreed to meet
again in the near future.
Actions at the February 19, 2010 Bargaining Session
The UFF and BOT bargaining teams met on Friday, February 19.
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The BOT Bargaining Team rejected UFF proposals for Articles 8, 9, 12, 14, 18, 20 (including Appendix F),
22, 23, and 24 presented on January 15 (below); they also withdrew their own salary offer, pleading
poverty.
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The BOT Bargaining Team presented a proposal for Article 14 on
Promotion Procedure.
The two teams also agreed on a
Memorandum of Understanding Article 14 - Promotions, specifically, the Instructor Track.
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The teams discussed the BOT's January 15 proposal for Article 13 on layoffs, UFF explaining that
the proposed language allowed too much discretion in selecting tenured professors to be laid off.
The next session is scheduled for Friday, March 5, at 2 pm, in SVC 2070, and per state law is open to the public.
Presented at the January 15, 2010 Bargaining Session
The following proposals were presented by the UFF Bargaining Team:
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We proposed no changes to Articles 1 – Recognition, 2 – Consultation, 3 – UFF Privileges, 4 – Reserved Rights,
7 – Minutes, Rules, and Budgets, 10 – Employee Performance Evaluations, 11 – Evaluation File,
13 – Layoff and Recall, 15 – Tenure, 16 – Disciplinary Action and Job Abandonment, 17 – Leaves,
19 – Conflict of Interest/Outside Activity, 21 – Other Employee Rights, 25 – Payroll Deduction,
27 – Miscellaneous Provisions, 28 – Severability, 30 – Definitions, Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C,
Appendix D, and Appendix E.
In particular, because of the sensitivity and concerns about layoffs, UFF proposed that Article 13 be
immediately TA'd, but the BOT representative declined.
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New language for
Article 8 on Appointments;
notice the proposals on new faculty hire searches, stipends for chairs and summer appointments.
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New language for
Article 9 on Assignment of
Responsibilities;
notice the proposals on teaching and committee assignments, and the number of days in a workweek.
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New language for
Article 12 on Non-Reappointment;
notice the proposal the notice required for non-reappointment of higher ranked Instructors and Librarians.
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New language for
Article 14 in an MOU and
Article 14 on Promotion Procedure;
this is for the Instructor tracks.
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New language for
Article 18 on Inventions and Works;
this is for instructional technology -- including recordings of lectures (!) -- and development of open
source materials.
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New language for
Article 20 on Grievance Procedure and
Arbitration; the process for addressing concerns about arbitrary and capricious assignments (Article 9.3) is described in
Appendix F.
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New language for
Article 22 on Professional Development
Program and Sabbaticals;
this is for a variety of proposed opportunities for professional development.
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New language for
Article 23 on Salaries;
we propose a 2 % base raise to all satisfactory (or better) employees plus 1 % merit plus compression &
inversion plus promotion raises.
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New language for
Article 24 on Benefits;
this is tweaking on the Domestic Partners Benefit and Early Retirement Initiative featured in the recent
MOU.
As mentioned above, UFF had proposed TA'ing on Article 13, but the BOT declined.
Instead they gave us a variant of their previous proposal on
Article 13 on Layoff and Recall,
which still permits targeted layoffs.
Time running out, the two teams agreed that the BOT Team will present its arguments in favor of its new
proposal for Article 13 at the next Bargaining Session, at a time and place TBA.
Contact us
Please feel free to forward questions, comments, and advice to the UFF-USF Bargaining Chair & Chief Negotiator,
Bob Welker.
The other members are
Ross Alander,
Sherman Dorn,
Greg McColm,
Art Shapiro,
Keith White,
and
Sonia Wohlmuth.
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