In Memory
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Bruce Nissen's youngest son Leif was killed in a car accident. UFF-FIU wishes to express our deepest sympathies and support for Bruce Nissen and his family in their time of loss. Please keep Bruce and his family in your thoughts.
Donations to either We Count or to RISEP
Welcome to the Florida International University Chapter of the United Faculty
of Florida. UFF-FIU provides many services to it members. Follow the links
in the menu on the left to access contract information, application forms
and contact information for the officers.
Recent News
Holiday Open House
Please join us in the Faculty Club for a Holiday Open House.
Beer, wine, appetizers and camaraderie will be available from 4-7 pm on
December 4th. Stay for a minute, stay for three hours!
R.S.V.P. to Leslie Frazier
by December 2, so we have an idea of how many will be attending.
View invitation.
Collective Bargaining Fall 2008
Dear Members of the UFF Collective Bargaining Unit:
UFF and the FIU administration have reached tentative agreement on a new
Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2008-2011.
View the tentative agreement for 2008-2011
The UFF bargaining team and the Board of Trustees/Administration have
tentatively agreed to salary raises and one-time bonuses totaling 3.5%.
Of this amount, 2.0% Retention Raises will go to all eligible employees
in the bargaining unit effective December 28, 2008. Eligible employees
are defined as those who were employed as of the beginning of Spring 2008
and remain employed as of the effective date of the increase and who
received at least a satisfactory evaluation in their most recent annual
evaluations.
Additionally, 1.5% of the total employee payroll as of the end of the
2007 – 2008 Academic Year will be distributed to departments/academic
units on a pro rata basis to be awarded to faculty as one-time
departmental merit bonuses to be paid 12/28/08. The amounts and
recipients of these merit bonuses will be determined using
departmental/unit merit criteria.
The tentative agreement would retroactively grant authority to the
administration to provide funds for the Convocation Awards already made in
2007 and 2008 and discretionary increases already provided in 2007 – 2008.
In addition, the tentative agreement would provide that the FIU
administration may during Academic Year 2008 - 2009 give discretionary
raises or one-time awards of up to .75% of the UFF bargaining unit payroll
as of the end of the 2007-2008 Academic Year. This allows the
administration the ability to make counter-offers, provide raises for
increased duties and responsibilities, award special achievement, and deal
with salary compression and inversion.
The new contract will now contain policy to provide a promotion track and
promotion raises for lecturers and instructors. The UFF is especially
pleased to have achieved this benefit. The promotion raises that UFF and
the administration agreed at the beginning of the Academic Year to provide
those whose promotions went into effect this year will in future years be
available for the first time to those lecturers and instructors who apply
for and achieve promotions.
We are also pleased that both sides have tentatively agreed to an increase
on supplemental summer appointment compensation. Each three-credit course
will now be paid at the rate of 12.5% of the annual 9-month salary. In
return for this increase in the amount to be paid for courses after the
first, UFF and the administration have tentatively agreed that those who
receive supplemental summer instructional appointments may be required
to attend up to two hours total of departmental, college, or university
meetings required for collegial activities of particular urgency during
any summer term (A, B or C) during which they have instructional
appointments.
Finally, the new contract will have clearer language on parental leave,
allowing greater flexibility and clarity concerning the start and end
dates of leave while preserving the 26-week paid parental leave for
parents in the birth or adoption of a child.
The UFF bargaining team had hoped to reach agreement on contract language
to insure the fair implementation of changes the university has made this
year in its policies concerning allocation of research space. As you will
recall, UFF has for almost a year been engaged with the administration in
bargaining over the impact of those policies. However, because the UFF and
the FIU administration have not yet reached agreement on language
concerning this important issue, the administration has indicated it will
seek to proceed to impasse on this matter, rather than to engage in
further bargaining that would delay tentative agreement and ratification
of the rest of the new three-year contract. UFF will continue to keep
our bargaining unit informed of progress in resolving this important
matter in a way that insures a fair and orderly implementation of any
research space allocation policy. UFF’s proposals to date have sought to
protect tenure-earning faculty from losing research space during their
tenure-earning period; to protect productive research faculty from
unfairly losing research space abruptly due to changes in university
priorities; and to protect faculty who take authorized leaves of absence
from losing research space during such leaves. We will continue to work
with the state UFF office and our UFF legal counsel to respond to the
administration’s declaration of impasse and to work to protect the
interests of the many researchers in our bargaining unit. However, the
three-year agreement that is the subject of ratification will not include
language on this issue.
These tentative agreements conclude the full book bargaining we began last
Spring. If the agreement is ratified the new contract will be
effective from 2008 – 2011. However, before this new contract, and
salary raises can go into effect, both the UFF bargaining unit and the
Board of Trustees must vote to ratify the terms and conditions
tentatively agreed to by the bargaining teams.
By law, we must conduct the balloting on ratification within 2 weeks after
the announcement of the tentative agreement. This email serves as
notification. The contract (in draft form) is posted on the UFF website
(www.uff-fiu.org) and on reserve in both the UP and BBC libraries for
review by our bargaining unit.
We will conduct balloting on UP on Monday, November 10th from 9am to 5pm
in the Green Library (across from the escalators). Balloting will be held
on BBC on Wednesday, November 12th from 9am to 5pm in the BBC Library
lobby. Those wishing to vote absentee must email me
(leslie.frazier@uff-fiu.org) to request an absentee ballot. Absentee
ballots must be received by me by 5pm on Wednesday, November 12th.
In order to ratify this proposed contract, a majority of those voting
must vote in favor of ratification. The Board of Trustees will be meeting
on Friday, November 14th and we anticipate that they will vote to ratify
the contract at that meeting.
Let me tell you, having sat at the table for over a year and observed the
contract negotiations – the FIU faculty are tremendously fortunate to have
such a dedicated, principled, skilled bargaining team. They have done a
truly exceptional job preserving our academic rights and privileges and
gleaning new ones. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for their
volunteer service on behalf of all faculty.
View the tentative agreement for 2008-2011
Please email me if you have any questions.
Yours truly,
Leslie
Leslie Frazier, President
New Grievance Policy
The United Faculty of Florida (UFF), the union that represents the faculty and librarians at FIU, has voted in favor of a change in policy at its recent statewide UFF Senate meeting.
AS OF NOVEMBER 4,2008 THE UNION WILL NO LONGER PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL GRIEVANCE REPRESENTATION TO NON-MEMBERS.
Unlike many other unions, UFF has in the past offered grievance representation to all bargaining unit members, whether or not they have chosen to join the union and pay membership dues. To help offset the costs of grievance representation, in the past UFF has required non-members merely to share the costs of taking their grievances to arbitration. However, because our state affiliate has informed UFF that it cannot provide legal support to UFF when it represents non-members, UFF is unable to continue to provide representation to non-members.
Therefore, as of November 4th, unless you are a member of UFF at or before the time of any incident that violates your rights under the BOT-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement, UFF will not represent youin your grievance. As always, you will have a right to represent yourself or to hire an attorney to represent you. And, just as you cannot obtain an insurance policy after an accident happens, you cannot obtain union representation in a grievance over something that happened before you were a member by joining the union after the incident that violates your contract rights and leads to the grievance occurs.
As has always been the case, non-members are not entitled to the $1 million insurance policy that covers liability for work-related lawsuits or claims against a faculty member. This has always been another important protection offered automatically to UFF members and paid for by their dues.
As before, it is the choice of an individual faculty member or librarian as to whether or not to join UFF. However,because that choice now means the individual is opting out of a right to have the assistance of trained UFF grievance representatives, the union feels it is important for all faculty members and librarians to be notified of our new policy.
If you have any questions on the new policy feel free to email me (Leslie Frazier) or Paul Warren, our grievance chair (Paul Warren).
Yours,
Leslie
Leslie D. Frazier
Chapter President
United Faculty of Florida
Petition for TA's and RA's
We're writing to ask you to sign and circulate an online petition urging Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor new breakthrough legislation, the Teaching and Research Assistants Collective Bargaining Rights Act.
This Obama-co-sponsored federal legislation would guarantee TA's and RA's at private universities and colleges the right to unionize and have the same say over their pay, working conditions and benefits that our colleagues at public universities have enjoyed for years.
The petition is available at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TA_rights/.
Because the Teaching and Research Assistants Collective Bargaining Rights Act
is federal legislation, ANYONE -- regardless of citizenship or voter
registration status -- can sign so please forward the URL to all of your
listserves.
The Teaching and Research Assistants Collective Bargaining Rights Act has
already gained the support of many powerful legislators, including Senator Ted
Kennedy, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama, and Senator Hillary
Clinton.
International opinion is also on our side. This summer, the International Labor
Organization, an agency of the United Nations, reaffirmed TA's and RA's
internationally recognized right to form unions.
While this legislation has congressional and public attention in these short
days before the election, we need to capitalize on its current momentum. This
is not, by any means, a done deal.
To ensure that the Teaching and Research Assistants Collective Bargaining
Rights Act passes in Congress and becomes federal law, please:
* Sign and Circulate the Online Petition! Go to:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TA_rights/.
* Get more involved! Please email
GSOC or call 212-529-2580
and ask to speak to a GSOC member.
Letter to the Administration
United Faculty of Florida
Florida International University
April 17, 2008
President Modesto Maidique CERTIFIED/RRR
Florida International University
University Park Campus
Miami, FL 33199
Dear President Maidique
Following the recent Town Hall Meeting, it is clear the University is considering program closures, reorganizations and lay-offs in response to the anticipated budget cuts. As you know, it is essential that all those involved in the process, including FIU administrators, deans and chairs, be fully aware of the role of UFF and the rights of employees who may be affected by layoffs. Most important are the provisions of the BOT-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 8, Layoff and Recall.
Advance Notice to UFF of Proposed Layoffs. The CBA makes it clear that before implementing layoffs, the administration must notify UFF and, at UFF’s request, discuss the proposed layoffs. Article 8.1(a) makes clear the extent of this obligation:
In the event the University determines that the number of bargaining unit employees must be
reduced as a result of adverse financial circumstances; reallocation of resources; reorganization of
degree or curriculum offerings or requirements; reorganization of academic or administrative
structures, programs or functions; or curtailment or abolition of one or more programs or functions,
the University shall notify the UFF Chapter no less than thirty (30) days prior to taking such
action and, if UFF so requests, the University President or his designee(s) shall meet with UFF
to discuss the layoff prior to its implementation.
Bargaining Required Prior to Use of Adjuncts to Replace Laid Off Employees. In addition to the right to discuss layoffs prior to their implementation, UFF has the right to bargain over any proposal to use adjuncts or other non-unit faculty in those departments/units where bargaining unit employees have been laid off. Such a proposal must be made to UFF in writing in advance.
Order of Layoffs. After discussion with UFF, should the university decide to implement proposed layoffs, the contract provides for the order in which employees may be laid off. No tenured employees shall be laid off if there are untenured faculty in the layoff unit. No non-tenured employees with more than five years of service shall be laid off if there are employees with five years or less of service. No employee shall be laid off to create a vacancy to be filled by an administrator entering the bargaining unit.
Required Notice to Employees. If an employee with three or more years of service is to be laid off, he or she is entitled to at least one year’s prior notice. If an employee with less than three years of service is to be laid off, he or she is entitled to at least six month’s prior notice.
Alternative University Employment. The University must make a reasonable effort to find alternate employment in the University for laid-off employees and inform those employees of the results of that effort.
Recall and Re-employment Rights. Any employee who has been laid off has recall and re-employment rights that extend for two years after the layoff.
UFF will vigorously enforce these important contract rights during this difficult period. While we fully anticipate that the administration will work diligently to comply with the contract, FIU is facing an unprecedented and difficult period. There are many individuals, both in the university administration and in our bargaining unit, who may be unfamiliar with the layoff provisions of the contract simply because we have not faced a situation like this where they have been so important.
Therefore, we must work together to avoid problems by making sure that all those who will be responsible for implementation of layoffs are fully aware of the rights and protections contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and understand their obligations to comply with its provisions.
Sincerely
Leslie Frazier
President
Salary Study
Members of the Faculty Collective Bargaining Unit,
As you probably know, we are still engaged in bargaining salary increases for the 2006-2007 academic year (in addition to the 3% voted by the legislature effective October 1, 2006). The administration (representing the Board of Trustees) is offering little, on the grounds that the budget is very tight, both this year and next. We decided that the matter deserved some study, so we contracted with the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy, led by Dr. Bruce Nissen, lodged in the Center for Labor Research and Studies here at FIU, to do a follow-up to the study Dr. Nissen did for us in 2004.
The report, "Where Does the Money Go? FIU Expenditures on Faculty and Higer Level Administration in the Period from 2002--3 to 2005-06" can be downloaded from here: Download. It finds, among other interesting facts, that the number of administrators at FIU continued to increase significantly, while the number of faculty actually declined, despite the fact that tuition and fees have increased over 30% during the period studied. FTE teaching workloads have increased significantly during the same time.
The study concludes that the data reveal the true priorities of FIU, namely favoring administrators at the expense of faculty. "Students are being asked to provide ever greater amounts of money to be educated by a faculty that is both stretched ever-more thinly and provided relatively fewer of the institutions resouces."
Take a look. I think you will find the study both sound and enlightening.
This is a good example of your UFF dues money at work. If you have not yet joined UFF, an application form can be downloaded at Membership Form
Alan
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