United Faculty of Florida, 
             Chapter at the 
             University of South Florida


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Our Affiliates

The USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida consists of the UFF members at the four campuses of the University of South Florida (USF).

The USF Chapter is one unit of the The United Faculty of Florida (UFF).

The UFF is one Local of the Florida Educational Association (FEA).

The FEA is the merged Florida affiliate of both the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

The AFT is a member of the AFL-CIO: the UFF is AFT Local 7463.

But ultimately, the Chapter is the UFF membership at USF. To join the movement, down-load a membership form, fill it in, and mail it to PO Box 30238, USF-Tampa via campus mail.

Fellow Chapters

Many of the other chapters of the United Faculty of Florida have websites, often with interesting stuff on them.

Fellow Unions on Campus

Also on campus are:

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Announcements

Meeting Times

During the Fall, 2008, Chapter meetings will be on alternate Fridays, starting at noon, on September 5 & 19, October 3, 17, 31, and November 14 in SOC 304, and on December 12 in a room TBA. Come and join the movement.

Michael Berube Comes to USF

UFF has invited Penn State's Paterno Family Professor of English Literature Michael Berube to talk about What's so liberal about the liberal arts? on September 23, at 5:15, in CHE 100. This talk is free and open to the public, and members of the USF community are especially invited to attend. For more information, see our press release.
spacer He will also be leading an informal discussion on the Aesthetics of Cultural Studies at 3 pm in the Grace Allen room in the USF-Tampa main library.
spacer Off-campus visitors may wish to consult the USF Tampa campus map & directions (CHE is the Chemistry Building near lots 8A and GZ2) and USF Tampa campus parking.

Membership

We are launching a new membership initiative: anyone interested in helping grow the union is invited to contact Sherman Dorn. To join the movement, down-load a membership form, fill it in, and mail it to PO Box 30238, USF-Tampa via campus mail.

Contacting Us

Our on-campus mailing address is USF Box 30238, USF-Tampa, although the university office is in NEC116 (the former MHH223). Our phone numbers are (813) 313-7826 and 974-2428, while our fax number is (813) 974-7081. You can send us e-mail at uff@ourusf.org. You may also contact elected officers directly:

Checking Your Salary

The legislative mandated raise took effect last October 1. For those of us suspicious of computers, here is a way to check if one's raise is being computed properly. You have get your 11-digit USF ID number, and then go to GEMS from a computer that is on campus, as follows.

  1. Go to the GEMS login: https://gems.fastmail.usf.edu/psp/gemspro/?cmd=login.
  2. A window saying that PeopleSoft is handling your salary (a good reason to check your salary) will come up, and ask for your User ID and Password. Enter your 11-digit Employee ID for your User ID, and your GEMS password (if you don't have one, or had one and forgot it, click the "Forget your password?" link and follow instructions; the computer will not allow you to create a password that lacks letters, numbers, and at least one punctuation symbol (preferably not "\").
  3. A sparse screen will appear, with a Menu at left, including Payroll and Compensation. Click it, and you will have five options, including View Paycheck and Compensation History.
The Compensation History option will produce a list, in reverse chronological order, of all your base rates.

Stopping NEA Solicitations

The National Education Association works hard to get many special deals for members, but some members would rather not get solicitations. To opt out of solicitations, contact the NEA Benefits office.

Important Links

This is the oldest site for the USF Chapter of the UFF. There are two other important sites for the chapter:

  • The off-campus site is the home for the UFF Biweekly.
  • The weblog is the place to see what's happening in real time.
Come and check us out.

The 2004-2007 Collective Bargaining Agreement: The primary purpose of a union is to bargain and enforce a contract. This is the current contract between the United Faculty of Florida and the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida.
In the 2005 - 2006 reopeners, there were some changes: here is a summary of the changes, revisions to Article 24, revisions to Article 8, revisions to Article 22, revisions to Article 23, and revisions to Article 14.

To join the United Faculty of Florida, down-load a membership form, fill it in, and mail it to PO Box 30238, USF-Tampa via campus mail.

Records: News, Minutes, and Memory: Here are links to other records: the chapter bylaws, minutes of Chapter meetings, links to archived articles of the electronic UFF Biweeekly newsletter, links to archived copies of the hardcopy UFF Uncommon Sensequarterly, and other records.

UFF/USF Blog: Visitors welcome!

The Chapter maintains a book-sized site on the Al-Arian controversy. It is being kept roughly up to date, with a long Recent News page. In addition, union members Greg McColm and Sherman Dorn have published a retrospective on Al-Arian's years at USF, up through his dismissal, in NEA's Thought and Action; the article is on-line, and entitled A University's Dilemma in the Age of National Security.

Friends and Relations: Links to affiliates, associated groups, allied organizations, friends, and other places of interest.

Officers

Our elected officers are:

President Sherman Dorn

Vice President Mark Klisch

The Treasurer, Sonya Wohlmuth

The Secretary, Greg McColm

Our appointed officers are:

The Chief Negotiator and Bargaining Chair, Bob Welker

The Grievance Chair, Mark Klisch

The Membership Chair, Steve Permuth

The Publicity Chair, Greg McColm

We have two groups of elected representatives.

  • We have senators and alternate senators representing USF at biannual meetings of the UFF Senate.

    Nancy Anderson, Child Education

    Yancey Edwards (alt), Marketing

    Ilene Frank, Tampa Library

    Mark Klisch, Counseling Center for Human Development

    Jana Martin, Tampa Library

    Lynn McBrien, Psych. & Soc. Fdtns

    Greg McColm, Mathematics

    Kathleen de la Pena McCook, Library & Information Science

    Eric Odgaard (alt), St. Petersburg A & S

    Steve Permuth, Educational Leadership

    Arthur Shapiro, Educational Leadership

    Paul Terry (alt), Education Leadership - Lakeland

    Harry Vanden, Government & International Affairs

    Robert Welker, Accounting

    Keith White, St. Petersburg A & S

    Sonia Ramirez Wohlmuth, Library & Information Science
  • We have delegates and alternate delegates representing UFF for USF at annual meetings of the Florida Education Association (FEA) Assembly.

    Sherman Dorn, Psych. & Soc. Fdtns.

    Ilene Frank, Tampa Library

    Jana Martin, Tampa Library

    Greg McColm, Mathematics

    Steve Permuth, Educational Leadership

    Arthur Shapiro, Education

    Paul Terry (alt.), Education Leadership - Lakeland

    Harry Vanden (alt.), Government & International Affairs

    Keith White, St. Petersburg A & S

Come and Join Us!

The United Faculty of Florida maintains a faculty activist discussion list for members who want to discuss union issues over e-mail. The traffic can vary from a few messages a month to a dozen or more per day, depending on the issues of the day. If you are a member and wish to join, Send us a blank e-mail. If you subscribed from off-campus and your e-mail address doesn't include your full name, expect an e-mail follow-up asking for your name. If you're a member, the moderators of the list will then subscribe you.

Contacting Us

Our on-campus mailing address is USF Box 30238, USF-Tampa, although the university office is in NEC116 (the former MHH223). Our phone numbers are (813) 313-7826 and 974-2428, while our fax number is (813) 974-7081. You can send us e-mail at uff@ourusf.org.


Disclaimer: The pages in the ~uff account are maintained by and for the USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida, and do not reflect the views of the USF Administration.

Last updated August 25, 2008. These pages are maintained by Gregory McColm, who is also the newsletter editor.