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UFF Biweekly
United Faculty of Florida -- USF System Chapter
30 September 2011
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ANNOUNCEMENTS

WELCOME BACK RECEPTION NEXT TUESDAY!

UFF will be holding a Welcome Back & Welcome to USF Reception for new (and continuing) faculty and professionals on October 4, 5:30 – 7:30 at the Embassy Suites Hotel (at the corner of Fowler Ave. and Spectrum Dr. on USF-Tampa) in Salon F. All UFF USF System employees, UFF members and non-members alike, are invited for hors d'oeuvres and libations.

JOIN UFF TODAY!

Download, fill in, and mail the membership form. You must be a UFF member at the time of an incident (such as a reprimand, non-reappointment, layoff notice, or tenure/ promotion denial) for UFF to represent you in a grievance or future litigation. UFF CANNOT REPRESENT A NON-MEMBER IN A GRIEVANCE OR FUTURE LITIGATION. And if you join UFF by December 9, you will receive a $ 300 dues rebate in spring; it's never been easier to join the movement.

2011-2012 SALARY ADJUSTMENT NOTICES GOING OUT

UFF has been informed that Human Resources is now emailing to each employee notices on their salary adjustments (the 2010 merit pay raise bargained by UFF, the adjustment to the 2009 merit pay raise per the Memorandum of Understanding between UFF and the administration, and other pay raises). The subject line is "2011-2012 Salary Increase Notification", and we recommend that all employees save that email for their records.

JOIN THE UNION TO HELP DEFEND TENURE

Tenure was always on the legislature's agenda, but the buzz in Tallahassee is reverberating across the state and in the media. Most recently, on September 26, the Tampa Tribune reported that Scott's questions put university tenure under scrutiny.

  • As the Tribune observed, The state Legislature this year eliminated tenure protections for public school teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade, and with Scott praising proposed university reforms in Texas, Florida university faculty fear they're next. And now? "What's the purpose" of tenure, Scott asked in a recent meeting with The Tampa Tribune's editorial page writers. "If there's a logical purpose, we ought to have it. If not, we shouldn't do it."
  • The buzz is rising. On September 27, WCTV reported that Fla. Colleges, Universities Lobby Gov. Scott on Texas Plan, leading with the background note that Beginning six months ago, Scott sent letters to the presidents of Florida's public colleges and universities and asked for their opinion of a proposal pushed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
  • And Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos announced that he would be satisfied with Florida being relegated to the sidelines of the Twenty-First Century, as reported in the September 28 Sunshine State News article Haridopolos: Florida Offers Stability, Not Stimulus.
  • On September 28, the USF Oracle quoted Vice Provost Dwayne Smith saying, My only impression is that if I wanted to dismantle quality higher education in Florida, the Seven Breakthrough Solutions provides a recipe for doing so, in their article on Texas plan could reshape Florida’s education.
The United Faculty of Florida is the leading organization in Florida defending tenure in higher education. This is the time to join the effort to defend tenure at USF. In politics, timing is everything, and the buzz shows that the time has come.

LOGISTICS

Next Chapter Meeting next week, Friday, October 7, at noon, in EDU 313, on USF -Tampa.

Sandwiches & sodas are provided by the union, and all UFF members are invited to attend. Non-members are also invited to come and check us out. Come and join the movement.

Membership: Everyone in the UFF USF System Bargaining unit is eligible for UFF membership: to join, simply fill out and send in the membership form.

NOTE: The USF-UFF Chapter website is http://www.uff.ourusf.org, and our e-mail address is uff@ourusf.org.

About this broadcast: This Newsletter was broadcast from uff.ourusf.org, hosted at ICDsoft.com, and is intended for all members of the UFF USF Bargaining unit (USF faculty and professionals at most departments). A (usually identical) version will be broadcast to USF-News and USF-Talk from mccolm@usf.edu.

If you do not want to receive the UFF Biweekly, you can unsubscribe below. If you do not receive the Biweekly, but want to, e-mail a message to mccolm@usf.edu.

The UFF also sends out a biannual hardcopy newsletter, Uncommon Sense, to the entire unit. Past issues of Uncommon Sense are posted on-line. Articles from past issues of the Biweekly are also posted on-line.