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UFF Biweekly EXTRA
United Faculty of Florida -- USF Chapter
21 August 2020
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The Memorandum of Understanding is Ratified - but Meanwhile...

The Memorandum of Understanding that was overwhelmingly supported by the faculty is now in force as the USF Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of ratification. This Memorandum concerns online teaching, the tenure clock, and other pandemic-related issues. Even during a pandemic, the terms and conditions of employment are governed by our contract, the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Also at that meeting, the Board approved a cost reduction plan. State receipts have fallen during the pandemic, and the USF Oracle reports that the Florida State University System Board of Governors asked for plans for a possible cut of $ 37 million. The USF Board of Trustees proposed that nearly half the cuts would come from instruction, a fifth from university support services, a sixth from academic support services, an eighth from research, with other cuts from elsewhere.

This is in preparation for possible cuts. As mentioned in the 23 July 2020 Biweekly, the Governor is "holding back" some of our state allocation already. But it is not clear what the cuts this fiscal year will be: readers may recall from the 9 July 2020 Biweekly that observers anticipate that Tallahassee will decide what to cut and by how much after the election. And what Tallahassee decides to do probably depends on what Washington decides to do.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Chapter Meeting on Friday, August 28

The USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida will meet next week Friday at noon on Zoom. This is the first chapter meeting of Autumn; chapter meetings (and other important events) are posted on the Events Calendar. Any employee in the Bargaining Unit may attend, but you must have an invitation: contact the Chapter Secretary. Come and check us out.

Broadcasts of the regular UFF USF Biweekly will resume on Thursday, August 27. Meanwhile, past issues are archived on the newsletter page while the front page of our website has links to resources for teaching online and links to sources on Covid-19, as well as issues on consolidation and tenure and promotion. Come and visit us.

Join UFF Today!

Download, fill in, and mail the membership form. Benefits of membership include the right to run and vote in UFF chapter and statewide elections; representation in grievances (UFF cannot represent a non-member in a grievance or litigation); special deals in insurance, travel, legal advice, and other packages provided by our affiliates; free insurance coverage for job-related liability; and the knowledge you are supporting education in Florida. Come and join the movement.

USF United Support Fund for Food Pantries

Many of our students are struggling during this crisis, and the USF Foundation is supporting the USF Food Pantries to help out. They are accepting non-perishable donations, but one can also make monetary donations for the pantries at St. Petersburg, Sarasota / Manatee, and Tampa.


LOGISTICS

Chapter Meeting Friday, August 28 via Zoom: for an invitation, contact the Chapter Secretary.

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 UFF USF members.

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