UFF (Faculty Union) Biweekly EXTRA on the Chapter Election and on Bargaining

UFF Biweekly EXTRA United Faculty of Florida -- USF System Chapter 15 March 2016 Email not displaying properly? View it in your browser

Chapter Meeting March 25 in USF Sarasota / Manatee The Chapter will continue to meet on alternate Fridays. On Friday, March 25, the Chapter will meet on USF Sarasota / Manatee, and threats to job security will be on the agenda. Welcoming Spring Social on March 24 USF graduate assistants are throwing a party on Thursday, March 24 from 6 pm to 7:30 pm at Mr. Dunderbak's Biergarten & Brewery at 14929 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., and they have invited USF faculty and graduate students. So come celebrate the fifth day of spring. $ 500 Travel Grants for UFF Members The USF Chapter of the UFF will award six $ 500 Travel Scholarships for summer and fall. This will be for travel for participation in a professainl activity. All applications are due by April 21, and only UFF members are eligible. The six recipients shall be selected by lot at the April 22 chapter meeting. For more information, see the Travel Scholarship Flyer. This initiative is part of our membership campaign. If you would like to become active in the UFF USF Membership Drive, contact the Membership Chair, Adrienne Berarducci (click here).		In this Biweekly Extra, we announce the results of the Chapter Election. We also enclose a Letter from the UFF USF Collective Bargaining Team, which represents YOU in bargaining certain items in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, including salary. ELECTION RESULTS Each spring, the USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida elects new officers and representatives. All dues-paying UFF members - and only dues-paying UFF members - may participate by running for election and by voting. This spring, the newly elected officers are: President Art Shapiro Vice President Steve Lang Secretary Greg McColm Treasurer Sonia Wohlmuth The newly elected representatives are: For the UFF Senate: Karin Braunsberger, Pablo Brescia, Cecil Greek, Steve Lang, Mariam Manzur Leiva, Greg McColm, Adriana Novoa, Steve Permuth, Patricia Pettijohn, Frank Pyrtle III, Bob Welker, Rick Wilber, and Sonia Wohlmuth. President Shapiro serves ex officio. For the FEA Assembly: Steve Lang, Mariam Manzur Leiva, Greg McColm, Steve Permuth, and Art Shapiro. There were several write-in candidates for senate and assembly seats; ties will be broken at the next Chapter Meeting, March 25, at noon, at USF Sarasota / Manatee, room TBD. The newly elected officers and representatives will assume their offices and seats on April 1. A LETTER ON BARGAINING FROM THE UFF USF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TEAM Collective bargaining has been in process for the past TEN (10) months. The UFF has proposed a 4.0 % across the board salary increase, funds for compression and inversion salary increases and an increase in the amount for instructor promotions. USF has just recently increased its total salary offer from a 1.0 % to a 1.5 % salary pot (pot to be determined by multiplying 1.5% times the total salary in all departments of a college) to be distributed at the college level based on an employee's department performance evaluation when compared to the department employee evaluations of all employees in the college. So you may be top in your department, but in the middle of all of the employees in your college. USF has also proposed another 1/2 of 1 % of total base salary to add to its 1/2 of 1 % of total base salary remaining from last year to distribute or not distribute as administrative discretionary increases. The UFF has proposed a limit on the number of different course preparations per semester, a limit on the number of new course preparations per academic year, rolling 3 year contracts for instructors and librarians, the right to refuse to teach an online course and a formula for assigning FTE to a course. USF has said NO. NO NO to each. USF has proposed modifying Article 16 on Disciplinary Action and Job Abandonment by reducing the number of CALENDAR days for it to be able to declare that you have abandoned your job from 12 to 3. That's right - calendar days includes Saturday and Sunday. USF has proposed eliminating Article 12 on Non-Reappointment Section 12.4 in order to eliminate its responsibility to make a reasonable effort to find appropriate alternative or equivalent employment in the university for an employee in the event the employee is non-reappointed for certain reasons. Remember - the employees CAN NOT STRIKE. Remember - that if we go to impasse USF DOES NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT the recommendations of the special master and can basically do almost whatever it wants to. Look at what happened at UF last month. Just try to imagine what things would be like if there was NO UNION and no collective bargaining agreement. Respectfully, Your Collective Bargaining Team We continue to insist on fair treatment for all in-unit employees

		LOGISTICS Chapter Meeting Friday, March 25, at noon at USF Sarasota / Manatee in a room TBD. Click here for the standing agenda. There will be free lunch. Come and check us out. 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 gmccolm@tampabay.rr.com.