Uncommon Sense

The Newsletter of the United Faculty of Florida, USF Chapter

(an FTP/NEA Affiliate)

Volume 11, Number 1 Summer, 2002

The Voice of the University Professional

Faculty in Unions?

There is something peculiar about professors being in unions.

A dean once told me that he felt it was `unprofessional' for faculty to be in a union. The feeling is widespread, and not just among administrators. Some faculty feel that it is a bit, well, tacky to be in a union. Some faculty don't like belonging to a perhaps politicized group that takes positions they don't agree with. (And frankly, some don't like paying union dues.)

Being a professor is not like being a steelworker. A steelworker is supposed (by non-steelworkers) to have a job, and work for money. A professor, like a doctor or a lawyer, is supposed to have a calling, and work for society. And while one should be compensated for one's work by those who are able to make such compensation, a professor's calling transcends money.

Such ideals are found in the Hippocratic Oath, in the ethics of the bar, and for us academics: didn't Plato have some quite nasty things to say about ``sophists'' who worked for money? Ideally, academics, like other professionals, work for society and should be compensated by society.

But that's not how it works.

Even before HMOs made confetti of the Hippocratic Oath, doctors in America had formed the American Medical Association, to lobby for standards and prevent doctors - in their legal capacity as small businessmen - from being victimized. And the American Bar was formed by lawyers, for similar reasons.

There is a difference between a foundry and USF. Very often, the business of a foundry is to make money, within the constraints of its charter and the law. A foundry may say that employees are its most valuable resource, but a foundry aims at keeping the customer satisfied. But USF is more than a state business for providing good grades for student-customers, and USF's faculty are more than its most valuable resource. And students are not customers.

First, USF serves the state by teaching the next generation and pushing back the frontiers of scholarship.

And second, the faculty (and students) are the university. And so the principle of collegiality holds that the faculty should govern themselves and the university.

This the law presumes. In National Labor Relations Board vs. Yeshiva University (1980), the US Supreme Court held that professors in a `mature' university are to be considered `management.'

So what are we doing in a union?

Alas, very few universities are `mature.' Most university administrators see the university as a transcending the faculty, and as metaphysically identified with its (administrative) leadership. In an Orwellian twist, many administrators take ``collegiality'' to mean respect and obedience. And the relationship between faculty and administration has grown adversarial.

We must deal with the world as it is, not as we would wish it. The best compromise has been to form professional organizations: unions and union-like organizations. By combining, we get the clout to defend our institutions and ourselves from those who would impose on us the values that made Enron and WorldCom what they are today.

And there is more than making the best of a bad bargain. Let's be honest: we academics tend to live separate lives in our monastic cells. A union brings us all together, so each of us can meet others we would never meet otherwise. Association, says John Locke, is where new ideas come from. Join the union, and see the university you never knew was here.

Bargaining the Raise

Last Spring, UFF declared a bargaining impasse when the Board of Education (FBOE) refused to bargain. Over the Summer, the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) ruled that the FBOE's refusal violated Florida state law, issued a cease and desist order, and awarded UFF attorney's fees.

Meanwhile, the Legislature decided to resolve the issue by mandating a 2.5 % base salary raise to faculty, leaving promotional raises to the FBOE to work out.

UFF sent a salary proposal to the FBOE saying that we had no objection to implementing the base salary raises and the promotion raises, and suggested that time being an issue (the raises are supposed to start on Oct. 18) that we get all the necessary paperwork done asap. That was weeks ago, and we haven't heard from them.

President Genshaft has already announced the base raises, and of course the state should fund the promotion raises. We presume that the Administration, the Board of Trustees, and the FBOE awill act expeditiously to implement their commitments for the raises to take effect on time.

Al-Arian Update

On Wednesday, Aug. 21, President Genshaft announced that she intends to fire Professor Al-Arian.

This time, President Genshaft accuses Al-Arian of assisting terrorists,and she is firing Al-Arian to defend academic freedom. There is a twist: because USF does not want to be censured by the AAUP, USF is suing Al-Arian so that a court can pass on the legality of the Notice of Termination USF intends to send.

UFF continues to defend Al-Arian's contractual rights against the USF Administration. For recent developments, visit <http//w3.usf.edu/~uff/AlArian/>.

Calendar of Events

Fourth Freedom Forum. UFF will be proud to present Sheldon Grebstein, a past president of SUNY-Purchase, to our fourth Freedom Forum. Dr. Grebstein will be talking about his experiences at USF during the rampages of the Johns Committee

Four decades ago, Dr. Grebstein was one of three academics targeted in USF's most famous academic freedom scandal. A Legislative Investigations Committee, let by the colorful State Senator Charley Johns, descended on USF, investigating communism, civil rights activism, homosexuality, and related issues. During the onslaught, USF suspended one instructor, reneged on hiring another, and censured a Dr. Grebstein, who subsequently left. (It was the reneged hiring that led to the AAUP's censure of USF.)

UFF Senate Meeting on Sept. 28, 29. The UFF (state-wide) Senate is meeting early this year to plan how to deal with reorganization and bargaining efforts. Please communicate your concerns to your senators, who are listed on the web-page <http://w3.usf.edu/~uff/>.

Union Townhall Meeting on Oct. 18. UFF will be negotiating the next contract soon, and the Bargaining Team needs to get input from faculty on what the important issues are, what the priorities are, and what faculty want. Since UFF negotiates a contract covering all faculty in the Bargaining Unit, we want to hear from everyone.

The Town Hall meeting is thus open to all faculty in the Bargaining Unit. It will be on Oct. 18 at a noonish time TBA, at the CIS Auditorium.

It will be followed by a:

Pay Raise Party on Oct. 18. After the Town Hall meeting, we will retire to USF Riverfront Park, to celebrate the 2.5 % pay raise that UFF held out for in the last negotiations. This is only the beginning.

The Clock Will Begin to Tick ... In October, UFF will send the official letter to the Board of Trustees, stating that as UFF is the bargaining representative for the faculty in the Bargaining Unit, we should start bargaining soon if the contract expires in January (so tell us: what are YOUR bargaining priorities?). Presumably, the Board will respond expeditiously and positively - but we are making plans should the Board have a fit or something.