Bargaining for the 2014-15 reopeners commenced on April 30, and the teams agreed to Negotiating Ground Rules and gave overviews of the changes they seek. The BOT team opened Article 8 Appointment and Article 9 Assignment of Responsibilities, with the goal of seeking changes in regard to Specialized Faculty, and the UFF team opened Article 24 Benefits and Article 29 Severability. Two other articles open automatically: Article 23 Salaries and Article 30 Amendment and Duration. The teams also plan to discuss an MOA on Winter break.
The teams met on May 7, 14, and 21 and made progress on the open issues. We reached a Tentative Agreement on Article 8 Appointment that specifies how temporary “bridge funding” will work in cases where a granting agency reduces or redirects funding such that it affects Specialized Faculty with multi-year agreements. The teams also engaged in “Interest-Based Bargaining” around Article 24 Benefits and agreed to set up a joint labor-management committee to discuss improvements in benefits, but negotiations continue on the issue. The UFF-FSU team presented a proposal for Article 23 Salaries on May 21, and the BOT team is considering it. The BOT team presented a proposal on Article 9 Assignment of Responsibilities and the teams discussed it.