Dear Colleagues,
The UFF and Board of Trustees (BOT) teams met on Wednesday, July 7, to hear the BOT’s counter-proposal on Article 23 (Salaries) and to discuss other outstanding articles.
Did the pandemic upend your professional life and increase your workload? Perhaps you were heartened by the Administration’s appreciative comments. And perhaps you expected some financial follow-through. We know we did. Silly us! The BOT is offering almost no raises this year. Virtually none. Here’s a comparison of proposals.
| UFF-FSU proposal | BOT proposal | Description | No. faculty receiving 2018 | Pct. of faculty receiving 2018 | |
| Promotions | 12%/15% | 12%/15% | 12% to associate or specialized II; 15% to full or specialized III | 103 | 6.0% |
| SPI (Sustained Performance Increase) | 3% | 3% | Septennial raise for faculty at the highest rank | 29 | 1.7% |
| Across-the-board raises | 5% | 0% | |||
| Merit raises | 2.5% | 0% | |||
| Market equity raises | $3,000,000 | $0 | Supplement to faculty earning less than national averages for their position | ||
| Bonus | $2,000 | $1,200 |
The BOT proposal offers raises to approximately 7.7% of faculty. The rest get a $1,200 bonus, enough to buy a large Vanilla Macchiato every weekday to kick start our flagging motivation.
We are astounded and insulted. Astounded because FSU’s April 24 “Legisletter” highlighted the $15 million funded request, partially for faculty salaries, following CBA requirements. Insulted because this is the second year in a row of no across-the-board raises, a situation particularly galling because of the stupendous effort we put into meeting our students’ needs during the pandemic, keeping our departments and units afloat, and doing it without complaint.
It’s time to complain. The next bargaining session is scheduled for Wednesday, July 14, from 2:00–4:00. We need you to show up to make it clear that faculty believe a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. Coincidentally, that’s Bastille Day. Show up and let your presence register your concern about the direction the BOT team is taking. .Here is the Zoom link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/96161024932
We also invite you to attend the UFF happy hour this Friday at 5:00 at World of Beer on Apalachee Parkway (the former Genghis Grill restaurant). Bargaining team members will be present.
The bargaining session also entailed presenting the UFF’s latest proposal on Article 19 (Conflict of Interest) and the BOT’s proposal for an MOU on the Tuition Scholarship for Spouses and Dependents, which they continue to refuse to put in the CBA.
Regular updates can be found at our webpage: https://uff-fsu.org/
The key to a strong collective bargaining agreement is a strong membership base, so if you are not a member, please join! There has never been a more important time for us to stand together. https://uff-fsu.org/wp/join/
All best,
Irene Padavic and Scott Hannahs
Co-Chief Negotiators, UFF-FSU