THE BALLOTS ARE IN THE MAIL

Employees of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit will soon receive, or have received, ballots for ratifying a Memorandum of Understanding (described below). All employees are eligible to vote, as this Memorandum affects their contract. Ballot packets are in 9 x 12 white envelopes from the UFF USF Bargaining Committee. Please return them in time to be counted: the deadline for receipt is June 24. The Memorandum is described below.

Corrections

We have been having some computer issues, for which we apologize.

• On the ballot, it says to place the ballot in the small envelope provided in the packet, seal it, and then place the small envelope in the ballot box. This is an error: we ask employees to place the small envelope inside the regular envelope (already stamped and sealed), print your name at the upper left corner, sign your name in the upper left corner, seal it, and mail it. We apologize for the confusion.
• In the previous Extra, people who wanted to join were directed to an online form. Unfortunately, the form malfunctioned. So we are using the old form (a pdf file you can download, fill in, and email to the Chapter Secretary). We apologize for the problem.

The Memorandum of Understanding

This spring, courses suddenly went online mid-semester and many other professional arrangements were disrupted. Some of this disruption will continue into and perhaps through fall. For this reason, the United Faculty of Florida has bargained a Memorandum of Understanding with the USF Administration.

In this negotiation, the United Faculty of Florida represents all 1,600+ faculty and professionals in the UFF USF Bargaining Unit, and the USF Administration represents the USF Board of Trustees.

This "MOU", once ratified, requires, among other things:

• that each college shall decide whether to permit faculty to exclude their Spring 2020 student evaluations from their annual 2020 teaching evaluation or to include while taking care to consider the circumstances, and
• that the effect of the pandemic on scholarship, research, and / or creative works will be weighed in all evaluations during the pandemic, and
• a teacher whose age or health puts them at high risk (or who lives with someone whose age or health puts them at high risk) shall have priority for teaching courses online, and
• once applicable government-mandated restrictions expire, bargaining unit employees will have access to their offices and ("if applicable") laboratories and other facilities, consistent with campus safety policy, and
• pre-tenure bargaining unit employees with start-up funds may apply for an extra year to make use of those funds, and bargaining unit employees on sabbatical or professional leave may petition for a rememdy, and
• bargaining unit employees may use appropriate leave for looking after children while their schools were closed, and
• tenure-track faculty may have an extra year (but they have to request it).

The next step is to ratify the MOU. Both the employees of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit and the USF Board of Trustees must ratify this MOU in order for it to come into effect. Employees will ratify the MOU by voting on it by mail ballot. All UFF USF employees, both UFF members and non-members alike, are eligible to vote and should vote on this MOU.

UFF believes that this MOU is in the best interest of the UFF USF employees and the university, and strongly encourages a vote in favor of ratification. If you have any questions, please send us an email or contact your favorite officer or representative in UFF USF.