Bargaining Update: Recently the Administration/BOT and UFF faculty teams reached tentative agreement on new language for Article 10 on Performance Evaluation and on Winter Break. Key changes in Article 10 include a more detailed five-point performance rating scale sought by the Admin/BOT and a ban on forced distributions sought by the faculty team. Some of these provisions will require significant bylaws revisions — sorry. Read More →
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Faculty Senate Report on University Welfare
Report on University Welfare for Faculty Senate, September 19th, 2012
By Professor Jack Fiorito, Senator and UFF-FSU President
Good afternoon! In view of the late hour and that we have already had a report on collective bargaining from President Barron, I will try to be brief.
Collective Bargaining
As President Barron suggested, budget cuts and the political environment have made for a difficult bargaining environment. Since last spring we have held consultations with President Barron and Provost Stokes twice and held weekly meetings with the Administration/Board of Trustees bargaining team. Read More →
McRorie Luncheon & Bargaining Update
The UFF-FSU Chapter will host a luncheon featuring our new VP for Faculty Development and Advancement, Sally McRorie, on Wednesday, Sept. 26th at 12:30pm in the Oglesby Union’s Florida Room. A postable flyer with more information is available at: https://uff-fsu.org/art/fly20120926McRorie.pdf
Bargaining Update – Promotion Increases Delayed?
Today, your UFF-FSU bargaining team offered to immediately sign off on promotion increases of 12% for promotion to Associate and 15% for promotion to Full. Unfortunately, negotiations stalled because of the Administration’s insistence on linking promotion increases (the amounts of which are not in dispute) to Administrative Discretionary Increases (ADIs). We have been informed that promotion increases will be delayed. The UFF-FSU bargaining team believes that promotion increases should stand on their own as recognition for faculty who have earned them. The increases should not be contingent on negotiations about an unrelated issue.
Illustrating our good faith, we have agreed to 15 ADIs totaling $173,000 in the last ten days. The administration already has discretion for raises according to section 23.9(a)(6) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
We see the need to put through promotion raises immediately.
Taking a non-emergency item (ADI) off the table when so many important ones are pending would be detrimental to the bargaining team’s ability to get the best agreement possible for faculty. Several significant issues remain unresolved, such as a new performance evaluation system and job security issues for specialized faculty (NTTF).
While this delay is regrettable, the administration is fully able to implement promotion increases retroactively.
Your bargaining team remains committed to bargaining a fair and equitable agreement, and we look forward to returning to the table.
Faculty Shared Governance
“’Shared governance’ is much revered by faculty, but it adds vastly to administrative costs and stifles innovation and change. Shared governance is a byproduct of academic tenure, where faculty members with lifetime appointments face little consequence from trying, often successfully, to obstruct changes that
might reduce their power or influence or increase their teaching load.“
— Vedder and Denhart, Ten Principles of Higher Education Reform (2011, p. 16)
This background reading was circulated to meeting participants prior to last
week’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Higher Education meeting in St. Petersburg. Read More →