Upcoming Events

Event	Date	Location

Action Alert

Unions In The News

Browse Past News

[last updated: May 05 2017]

Changes to the Contract

View the proposed changes to the 2015-2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement. In the document, the changes are listed in red - either as additions (underlined) or deletions (~~strikethrough~~).

These are the highlights of the changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement fo 2017-17.

Release Time
Salaries
- Retention Increase of 1%, with a minimum of $800.
- Department Merit of 0.5%.
- Promotion Increases raised to 12% and 14%.
Distinguisehd University Professor

The changes were ratiifed by the unit with an overwhelming majority of the votes.

For your reading pleasure, below is the document final verision of the contract. Entire current collective bargaining agreement .

[last updated: April 15 2017]

Seating New Officers

New Term of Office

The chapter elections and membership meeting were held on On March 7, 2017. The following officers and senators were elected for the term of office starting April 1, 2017 and ending March 31, 2018. At the meeting, two officer positions were left unfilled. Since that time, the MMC VP and Secretary offices have been filled.

Officers

President - Eric Dwyer (Note: As President, is also a UFF-FIU Senator)
Vice President, MMC - Tim Downey
Vice President, BBC - Moses Shumow
Treasurer - Delano Gray
Secretary - Tania Santiago Perez

Senators

Ronald Baier
Rebecca Bakker
Thomas Breslin
James Burns
Deanne Butchey
Lauren Christos
Debra Davis
Tim Downey
Eric Dwyer
Delano Gray

Sarah Hammill
Katherine Lineberger
Teresa Lucas
Jorge Rodriguez
Kelley Rowan
Tania Santiago 18
Daniel Saunders
Moses Shumow
Richard Tardanico
Clark Wheatley

[last updated: April 16 2017]

Legislative Update

House and Senate budget conferees met throughout the weekend after agreement was reached on allocations to the various budget entities. This Legislative Update was delayed to report on those activities as it relates to higher education. Unfortunately, some of the compromises made are potentially harmful to UFF members. Note: The final 2017 Legislative Update will probably be on May 8th should session end on time.

Check the progress of the following:

Details of the 2017-18 budget.
SB 374 - College Completeness Act
SB 7030 - Florida Retirement System
SB 1276, HB 1073 - Fee Waiver for Graduate Students
HB 11 - Union Decertificiation
HB 351 - Secret Executive Searches
SB 622, HB6005 - Guns on Campus
HB 7007 - State Employee Health Insurance

Knowing your Rights and Understanding Common Issues

The first e-mail blast of every month will present one topic from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that affects every FIU faculty member. The creation of this series is the result of a suggestion at our UFF Spring Chapter meeting. It is part of our ongoing effort to inform all faculty not only of their rights under the CBA, but to inform all faculty of the value of being a UFF member. Our CBA is the outcome of years of dedicated UFF Bargaining teams who see value in protecting our rights. Lastly, this is a legally binding agreement and must be adhered to by all parties.

Types of Leave

These are the types of leaves available to FIU faculty.

Holidays
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Entitlements
Parental Leave
Leaves Due to Illness/Injury
Annual Leave
Administrative Leaves
Bereavement Leave
Leave Without Pay

This week we explore Sick Leave.

In future weeks we will explore other specific types of leaves.

[last updated: June 18 2016]

Administrative Leaves

UFF-BOT
POLICY LEAVES

Purpose: To establish policy and procedures concerning employee leaves.

Policy:

10. Administrative Leaves.
1. (A) Jury Duty and Court Appearances
2. (B) Military Leave
  1. 1. Short-term Military Training
  2. 2. National Guard State Service
  3. 3. Other Military Leave.
3. (C) Leave Pending Investigation
4. (D) Other Leaves Provided Not Affecting Accrued Leave Balances
  1. 1. Florida Disaster Volunteer Leave
  2. 2. Civil disorder or disaster leave
  3. 3. Athletic competition leave
  4. 4. Leave for re-examination or treatment
5. (E) Official Emergency Closings

(A) Jury Duty and Court Appearances
1. 1. An employee who is summoned as a member of a jury panel or subpoenaed as a witness in a matter not involving the employee's personal interests, shall be granted leave with pay and any jury or witness fees shall be retained by the employee; leave granted hereunder shall not affect an employee's annual or sick leave balance.
2. 2. An appearance as an expert witness for which an employee receives professional compensation falls under the BOT-UFF Policy on Conflict of Interest and Outside Activity and the University's policies and rules relative to outside employment/conflict of interest. Such an appearance may necessitate the employee requesting annual leave or, if a non-annual leave accruing employee, may necessitate the employee seeking an adjustment of the work schedule.
3. 3. If an employee is required, as a direct result of the employee's employment, to appear as an official witness to testify in the course of any action such duty shall be considered a part of the employee's job assignment, and the employee shall be paid per diem and travel expenses and shall turn over to the University any fees received.
4. 4. An employee involved in personal litigation during work hours must request annual leave or, if a non-annual leave accruing employee, must seek an adjustment to the work schedule.
(B) Military Leave.
1. 1. Short-term Military Training. An employee who is a member of the United States Armed Forces Reserve, including the National Guard, upon presentation of a copy of the employee's official orders or appropriate military certification, shall be granted leave with pay during periods in which the employee is engaged in annual field training or other active or inactive duty for training exercises. Such leave with pay shall not exceed seventeen (17) work days in any one (1) federal fiscal year (October 1 - September 30).
2. 2. National Guard State Service. An employee who is a member of the Florida National Guard shall be granted leave with pay on all days when ordered to active service by the State. Such leave with pay shall not exceed thirty (30) days at any one time.
3. 3. Other Military Leave.
  1. (a) An employee, except an employee who is employed in a temporary position or employed on a temporary basis, who is drafted, who volunteers for active military service, or who is ordered to active duty (not active duty training) shall be granted leave in accordance with Chapter 43 of Title 38, United States Code. Active military service includes active duty with any branch of the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard of the State of Florida, or other service as provided in Sections 115.08 and 115.09, Florida Statutes.
  2. (b) Such leave of absence shall be verified by official orders or appropriate military certification. The first thirty (30) days of such leave shall be with full-pay and shall not affect an employee's annual or sick leave balance. The remainder of military leave shall be without pay unless the employee elects to use accumulated annual leave or appropriate leave as provided in (4) below, or the employer exercises its option under Section 115.14, Florida Statutes, to supplement the employee's military pay. Leave payment for the first thirty (30) days shall be made only upon receipt of evidence from appropriate military authority that thirty (30) days of military service have been completed.
  3. (c) Applicable provisions of Federal and State law shall govern the granting of military leave and the employee's reemployment rights.
  4. (d) Use of accrued leave is authorized during a military leave without pay in accordance with Section 12 of this Policy. (C) Leave Pending Investigation. When the President or designee has reason to believe that the employee's presence on the job will adversely affect the operation of the University, the President or designee may immediately place the employee on leave pending investigation of the event(s) leading to that belief. The leave pending investigation shall commence immediately upon the President or designee providing the employee with a written notice of the reasons therefore. The leave shall be with pay, with no reduction of accrued leave.
(D) Other Leaves Provided Not Affecting Accrued Leave Balances. An employee may be granted other leaves not affecting accrued leave balances which are provided as follows:
1. 1. Florida Disaster Volunteer Leave is provided for an employee who is a certified disaster service volunteer of the American Red Cross. Leave of absence with pay for not more than fifteen (15) working days in the fiscal year may be provided upon request of the American Red Cross and the employee's supervisor's approval. Leave granted under this act shall be only for services related to a disaster occurring within the boundaries of the State of Florida.
2. 2. Civil disorder or disaster leave is provided for an employee who is member of a volunteer fire department, police auxiliary or reserve, civil defense unit, or other law enforcement type organization to perform duties in time of civil disturbances, riots, and natural disasters, including an employee who is a member of the Civil Air Patrol or Coast Guard Auxiliary, and called upon to assist in emergency search and rescue missions. Such paid leave not affecting leave balances may be granted upon approval by the President or designee and shall not exceed two days on any one occasion.
3. 3. Athletic competition leave is provided for an employee who is a group leader, coach, official, or athlete who is a member of the official delegation of the United States team for athletic competition. Such paid leave not affecting leave balances shall be granted for the purpose of preparing for and engaging in the competition for the period of the official training camp and competition, not to exceed 30 days in a calendar year.
4. 4. Leave for re-examination or treatment with respect to service connected disability is provided for an employee who has such rating by the United State Department of Veterans Affairs and has been scheduled to be reexamined or treated for the disability. Upon presentation of written confirmation of having been so scheduled, such leave not affecting the employee's leave balances shall be approved and shall not exceed six (6) calendar days in any calendar year.
(E) Official Emergency Closings. The President or President's representative may close the University, or portions of the University, in the event an Executive Order declaring an emergency has been issued. When natural disasters or other sudden and unplanned emergency conditions occur which are not covered by an Executive Order, the President or designee shall determine whether the University, or any portion thereof, is affected by the emergency and is to be closed. Such closings will be only for the period it takes to restore normal working conditions. Leave resulting from such an emergency closing shall not reduce employees' leave balances.

Grievance chair: Lauren Christos

[last updated: June 21 2016]

Review more of your rights on the Contract Page

How FIU Spends Its Money - 2014

This report analyzes the trends in Florida International University (FIU) expenditures on faculty and faculty salaries compared to expenditures on administration and administrators' salaries for the years 2004 through 2013. Previous reports were produced in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. This report extends the analysis of FIU's expenditures with data available in October 2013, including faculty salaries through the 2013-2014 academic year. This report supports previous findings that FIU is experiencing administrative bloat, expanding the resources of administration at the expense of instruction, research and service.

Download the 2014 report in MS Word format.

Due to the original format of the MS Word document, a PDF version of the file has three parts:

Download the 2014 report in PDF format (pages 1-13).
Download the 2014 report in PDF format (pages 14-15).
Download the 2014 report in PDF format (pages 16-23).

[last updated: October 30 2016]

The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much

BOULDER, Colo. - ONCE upon a time in America, baby boomers paid for college with the money they made from their summer jobs. Then, over the course of the next few decades, public funding for higher education was slashed. These radical cuts forced universities to raise tuition year after year, which in turn forced the millennial generation to take on crushing educational debt loads, and everyone lived unhappily ever after.

CFHE

Join the campaign for the Future of Higher Education

The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education is organized around SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES that must define quality higher education for the 21st century.

The mission of the campaign is to ENSURE THAT AFFORDABLE QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION is accessible to all sectors of our society in the coming decades. This is a time of great change in higher education.

Visit the CFHE site.

[last updated: October 30 2016]

Arbitration

In the past few years, UFF saved dozens of tenured and non-tenured faculty jobs by challenging "arbitrary and capricious" layoffs and non-renewals through arbitration.

Cary Nelson, the national president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), summed up the significance of these victories:

"[The arbitration wins are] confirmation of the power a union contract has to preserve faculty job security... Even in those states that regard tenure itself as the equivalent of a contractual agreement, a legally enforceable union contract is still much more secure."

(Inside Higher Ed, 11/08/10)

Important Changes in United Faculty of Florida Grievance Representation Policy

At its September 2008 Senate meeting, the statewide United Faculty of Florida (UFF) revised its grievance representation policy in response to liability and legal concerns. Effective immediately, UFF will not provide grievance representation to faculty who were not dues-paying UFF members at the time when the grievable incident occurred.

All faculty have the right to file an individual grievance, but those who were not UFF members when the incident occurred must represent themselves or retain an attorney. UFF retains the sole and exclusive right to invoke arbitration; non-members will not automatically have the right to pursue a remedy beyond the grievance process. If UFF agrees to allow a non-member to proceed to arbitration, the non-member will be responsible for the cost of the arbitration - $2000 to $4000 - and must provide his or her own attorney, the cost of which can exceed $20,000. If a non-member informs the chapter of an incident, UFF may file a grievance on behalf of the chapter if it is believed to have chapter-wide impact on the enforcement of the collective bargaining agreement; however, that is at the discretion of the chapter.