Time and place. This meeting was conducted at 12 noon on Zoom.
Attendance. 19 members, one staff member, and one guest
Minutes. Minutes for the August 5 meeting were approved.
President’s Report.
- Update on dealing with recent legislation. Discussion of HB 7, HB 223, SB 7044, and recent conflict-of-interest legislation..
- Phased Retirement. Some recent changes in Florida’s phased retirement rules may be disarticulated with contract language.
New Business
- UFF Senate Meeting. The Senate will meet in Orlando on September 17 & 18. Council members should register asap, and if unable to attend, give proxies to senators who will attend.
- Chapter meetings in regional campuses. We anticipate a face-to-face chapter meeting at each regional campus this fall.
- Off-campus venue near Tampa. We will seek a location near USF Tampa to meet off-campus.
- Socials this fall. Discussion.
- Labor Day picnic. The chapter will arrange for tickets for members (and families) to attend the WCF Labor Day Picnic. Any member planning to attend should inform the Chapter Secretary by August 31.
Old Business
- Get Out The Vote. Discussion.
Reports
- Grievances. We have a lot of grievances. There are reports of faculty being summoned to meetings, and we should advise faculty of their right to have a union representative present per Section 16.3.
- Membership. We have more members.
- Motion made and seconded that the rebate be extended to cover all people who joined since August 7. Point of information: the extension applies to twenty people. Motion passes.
- Bargaining. There was a scrivener’s error in the contract: one of the articles was in an incorrect position. The chief negotiators will discuss what to do. As of yesterday’s regular mail delivery, contracts have not been delivered to home addresses.
Good of the Order
- Regarding SB 7044. The US Department of Education has revoked the rule permitting accreditor-shopping. Any institution that does so in compliance with SB 7044 risks losing federal funding.
- Journal prices. The White House has just issued a Guidance advising federal agencies to require that publication of federally funded research be free to the public.
These minutes were respectfully submitted on 26 August 2022.