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UFF Biweekly
United Faculty of Florida -- USF System Chapter
21 April 2022
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IN THIS ISSUE

The Proposed Contract

Two weeks ago, the chief negotiators for the USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida (representing the employees in the UFF USF Bargaining Unit) and the USF Administration (representing the USF Board of Trustees) tentatively agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This proposed contract does not come into force unless and until ratified by both the employees of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit and the USF Board of Trustees, and since the semester is ending, both the UFF and the Administration are handling the logistics of the ratification process. All UFF USF employees, whether or not they are UFF members, are eligible to vote on ratification and are encouraged to do so.

But first of all...

  • The Proposed Contract. The new contract is the result of multiple changes in the old contract, and we go over the major changes. For details, see below or click here.
UFF will have a Q&A Town Hall Meeting on the proposed contract tomorrow Friday at 2 pm in EDU 261 on USF Tampa, and also online on Zoom and all employees of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit - UFF members and non-members alike - are invited to attend. This meeting will occur after tomorrow's Chapter Meeting, at 12 noon also in EDU 261 or online on Zoom (contact the Chapter Secretary for a Zoom invitation), to which all UFF USF employees are also invited.

Ratification. The procedure for UFF USF employees to vote on ratifying the contract will be announced as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

One correction in last week's report of the election results. The delegates representing USF at the Florida Education Association Delegate Assembly this coming year are Katherine Alfredo, Hossam Ashour, Karin Braunsberger, Steve Lang, John Lennon, Richard Manning, Greg McColm, LaSonya Moore, Cynthia Patterson, Steve Permuth, Frank Pyrtle III (alternate), and Arthur Shapiro. The Biweekly regrets the error.

Finally, April is the month for open enrollment in the Sick Leave Pool. If an employee who has been enrolled in the sick leave program for at least half a year gets seriously sick (with a documented illness) for long enough to exhaust all their leave, that employee can have access to sick leave from the pool. The sick leave program - like sick leave itself - is one of the benefits in the contract (see 17.8A on page 41). For information on the program, see the USF handout on the pool; to join the pool, submit an application to your Departmental A&L Coordinator.

Chapter Meeting Tomorrow in EDU261 at 12 Noon - and on Zoom

The USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida will meet tomorrow Friday at 12 noon in EDU 261 on USF Tampa. On the agenda: the new contract, the recruiting effort, the summer meeting schedule, and more. And here are the minutes for the previous meeting.

This will be the last chapter meeting of the semester. Any employee in the Bargaining Unit may attend, but to Zoom in you must have an invitation: contact the Chapter Secretary to get one.

Meetings and events are posted on the Events Calendar of the UFF USF Website. Come and check us out.

Chapter Meeting Tomorrow at 12 noon on Zoom

The USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida will meet tomorrow Friday at 12 noon on Zoom. On the agenda: bargaining, the chapter election, academic freedom, and more. And here are the minutes for the previous meeting.

This semester, the chapter will meet on April 8 & 22, and May 5. Any employee in the Bargaining Unit may attend, but to Zoom in you must have an invitation: contact the Chapter Secretary to get one.

Meetings and events are posted on the Events Calendar of the UFF USF Website. Come and check us out.

Join UFF Today!

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. Here is the membership form. Come and join the movement.

Grievances

If you have been the victim of a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement or the recent Memorandum of Understanding, you have thirty days from the time you knew or should have known of the violation to file a grievance. If you are, and at the time of the violation were, a dues-paying member of the United Faculty of Florida, you have the right to union representation. To contact the UFF USF Grievance Committee, go to the Grievances Page.

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.

We are on Social Media

Yes, we are on social media.

  • We have a Facebook group: see United Faculty of Florida at USF. This page is a place where UFF members can exchange thoughts and ideas. The page is "public", but only dues-paying UFF members are eligible to post items on the page. If you are a UFF member, ask to join on the page, and the moderator will invite every UFF member that asks to join. Non-members are welcome to look (but you need a Facebook account to do that). So check us out.
  • We have a blog: see The USF Faculty Blog. This has news items as they come up.
  • We are twitter-pated: follow us on Twitter via @UffUsf.
  • We even have a You-Tube channel: check out our videos
If you want to help with media matters, contact the Communications Committee chair.


The Proposed Contract

This was an open book contract negotiation, i.e., the two bargaining teams took the old contract and proposed amendments, deletions, and adjustments. The result is a modification of the old contract. Here is the proposed contract with changes in red (additions underlined and deletions struck through). And here is the resulting draft.

Here is the list of the substantive changes. For each item, the article, section, or subsection is given at the beginning, then there is a very brief description, and finally there are the page numbers for the change in the draft with changes tracked, and then in the resulting draft.

  • Article 1 on Recognition. The contract takes priority over regulations and resolutions. Page 1 and 1.
  • Section 3.2 on Communications between UFF and the USF Administration, a new Subsection E. Except for non-reappointment and disciplinary matters, email communications between UFF and the USF Administration suffice. Page 2 and 2.
  • Section 6.2 on Non-Discrimination Policy, a new Subsection C. Discrimination on the basis of sex shall not be tolerated per the amended University Policy 0-004. Page 5 and 5.
  • Section 6.5 on Non-Discrimination Procedures. Any Title IX claim must be processed via the USF Title IX office, and only after it has been fully processed per the amended University Policy 0-004 may a grievant take it to the UFF grievance process. Page 6 and 6.
  • Subsection 8.4E4b on Independent Study and Directed Reading during summer. Summer appointments for "independent study," "directed reading," or "directed research" are not available unless it is for a student who needs to graduate on time. Page 9 and 9.
  • New subsections 10.5F & G on "expectations" for Annual Performance Evaluations. Employees of each department / school or college eligible to participate in their unit's governance shall participate in developing the expectations, which then must be approved by the Administration. Page 18 and 17 & 18.
  • Article 11 on Evaluation Files. Instead of a single paper file, each employee shall be several electronic files, to which the employee has access. Page 18 and 18.
  • Article 16 on Disciplinary Action. In Sections 16.3 and 16.4, a notice of intent (for suspension or termination) or of discipline may be delivered by email during a video meeting held for the purpose of delivery of the notice. Page 26 and 26.
  • Section 16.6 on Disciplinary Action Other than Termination. A Letter of Counsel is not a disciplinary action and shall not be placed in the employee's file. Page 26 and 26.
  • Section 17.7 on the Parental Leave Paid Program. Subsection (3) on the Commitment to Reimburse is collapsed into a sentence in (2) on Commitment to Return. Page 29 and 29.
  • Section 20.8E on Step 3 Arbitration (in the Grievance Procedure). Instead of arbitration, the matter may go to federal mediation. Page 43 and 42.
  • Subsection 20.9 on Filings and Notification (in the Grievance Procedure). Documents may be transmitted electronically as appropriate. Page 44 and 43.
  • Subsection 20.15 on Non-Binding Mediation (in the Grievance Procedure). Parties may switch to non-binding mediation during the process. Page 45 and 44.
  • Subsection 23.1 on the Pay Plan was replaced by the following:
    • Every satisfactory permanent employee hired prior to 7 August 2021 with no outstanding Active Performance Plan, notice of non-reappointment, dismissal, or resignation who were continuously employed since then shall receive a $2,000 bonus.
    • By 1 September 2022, every similarly eligible employee shall receive a 3.5% raise.
    • By 1 September 2023, every similarly eligible employee shall receive a 2% raise.
    The cumulative effect is a 5.57% raise over two years plus the bonus. In addition, each year, the Administration may award discretionary raises that add up to at most 1% of the payroll, so outstanding employees should ask their supervisors about this option. And employees in the College of Nursing may also receive compensation from clinical revenue. All this from pages 50 - 53 and 48 - 50.
  • A new section 24.8 on Free University Courses for Dependents, Spouses, and Domestic Partners. Page 56 and 54. (A section 24.12 to study tuition assistance for spouses and children is deleted. Page 57 and absent from 54.)
  • Section 27.5 on Copies of the Agreement. USF no longer provides free hardcopies of the CBA to UFF USF employees. (UFF has been doing this for years, anyway.) Page 59 and 56.
  • Article 29 on Amendment and Duration. The new contract would last until 7 August 2024, and bargaining a successor will start by 15 March 2024. Pages 59 - 60 and 57.
  • Appendix F on the Exclusive Assignment Dispute Resolution Procedure. Complainant has 15 days (rather than 30) to file an assignment dispute and the responsible officer will meet with the complainant within 7 days. There are several other adjustments in the dispute process.
UFF strongly encourages all employees in the USF UFF Bargaining Unit to vote and to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed contract. Again, there will be a Q&A Town Hall tomorrow Friday at 2 pm in EDU261 and online on Zoom, and all UFF USF employees are invited.

Again, the procedure for UFF USF employees to vote on ratification will be announced shortly, so stay tuned.


LOGISTICS

The next chapter meeting will be tomorrow Friday, April 22, at 12:00, in EDU 261 on USF Tampa, or via Zoom. There will be sandwiches, fruit, soda, and sweets, and all UFF USF members are welcome: for the Zoom link, contact the Chapter Secretary.

All UFF members are invited to attend. Non-members are also invited to come and check us out. To get the link to Zoom, contact the Chapter Secretary. 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 or contacting the Chapter Secretary. If you do not receive the Biweekly, but want to, contact the Chapter Secretary.