Volume 7: Number 1

Fall, 1998

This is the first edition of the USF/UFF newsletter after a four year hiatus. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a forum for USF faculty, as union members, to communicate with each other. All faculty are invited to contribute material for publication, which shall be published subject to space and legal and related constraints: no changes will be made without permission from the author. Anyone who wants to contribute an article but wants their name withheld can do so, although we will not publish anonymously submitted articles. All submissions, including Letters to the Faculty, should be sent to the United Faculty of Florida, USF Chapter, MHH 223, University of South Florida, 4202 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620; or e-mail it (with SENSE on the subject line, please) to mccolm@math.usf.edu.

Bargaining News

Every three years, the Board of Regents and the United Faculty of Florida negotiate a new contract. (Fine-tuning negotiations are also conducted annually.) Negotiations for the 1999--2002 contract were conducted in a new "collegial" manner, to find common points of interest, clarify problem issues, and promote cooperation. The BoR and UFF agreed on a contract, except for Article 8: Appointments. On that issue, we went into impasse. The problem was Multi-Year Contracts:

In the 1995-1998 contract, Section 8.12 allowed for multi-year contracts at Florida Gulf Coast University, "in a manner that supplements, rather than supplants, tenure-earning appointments". These contracts were to last two to five years, and were renewable, but carried no expectation of renewal. UFF understood this to be some kind of experiment, although criteria for success (indeed, the nature of data to be collected) were never made clear.

The BoR wanted to extend multi-year contracts throughout the system: during the next decade, there will be a huge demand for more instructors, a demand that may well recede, and perhaps the BoR wants to be free to hire instructors it need not keep later. The UFF is worried that multi-year contracts will ultimately supplant tenure; in the year since FGCU opened, all new hires were for multi-year contracts.

Fortunately, the UFF and the BoR were able to come to a resolution last Spring. Here is an excerpt from the report from the UFF Bargaining Chair, Chuck Elkins:

"... On Monday, February 16 the UFF and the BOR reached tentative agreement on Article 8 (Appointment) of the Successor Agreement for 1998-2001. Previously, on December 17, 1997, the UFF and the BOR had declared impasse on this article. This is the article that deals with multi-year apppointments. A multi-year appointment is for a fixed term of employment of two to five academic or calendar years.

"Florida Gulf Coast University retains the right to offer multi-year appointments to regular faculty in lieu of tenured or tenure-earning positions. The other nine state universities may offer multi-year appointments to the following:

• a. Instructors and Lecturers;
• b. Non-tenure or non-tenure earning Assistant Librarians, Associate Librarians, Librarians, Curators and Counselors/Advisors;
• c. Scholars/Scientists, Research Associates, and Associate In/Assistant In;
• d. Clinical faculty;
• e. Individuals who have officially retired from universities or other institutions and who are at least 55 years of age;
• f. Tenured employees who decide to give up their tenured status to take advantage of whatever incentives might be offered by a multi-year appointment; and
• g. Individuals who have held the rank of full professor for at least seven (7) years at an institution of higher education. Categories a-d represent faculty who are currently on appointments that must be renewed each year.

"Unless both sides agree to reopen, Article 8 will not be reopened until the successor agreement is bargained (not later than October 1, 2000).

"We believe that resolving this article at the bargaining table, and, consequently, keeping it out of the Legislature, is a major victory both for the BOR and the Union."

By now, you will have received the contract that was negotiated last year. Keep it for your files: you cannot use your rights if you do not know what they are.

Salaries

First, the good news. A non-promotional salary raise historically came in three parts. The across the board raise (each faculty member gets X %) was usually below the cost of living increase. The merit raise is computed using formulas based on annual evaluations and other "hard" data. This sort of raise is preferred by the union because it is less susceptible to whimsy (and political manipulation) than: The discretionary raise, which is money the deans can give to whomever they choose for whatever reason. And usually there is a minimum raise that everyone must get.

In the 1998 bargaining session, responding to the sentiments of faculty, the UFF pressed for and won the following change: All pay increases are based on merit (except for the minimum everyone gets). No more across-the-board or discretionary raises.

One consequence is that now your annual evaluations are more critical than ever in determining your raises. So make sure that your department takes them seriously, and that they are done in a responsible manner.

And now for some information.

One of the most interesting facts to come out of "collegial bargaining" concerned salaries. As you may have noticed, each year, the State of Florida announces pay raises for civil servants which turn out to be higher than what most faculty get. Why is that?

Civil servants, including professors, occupy "lines": each line is for a job to be done by 1.0 full-time people, and each (funded) line has a salary attached. So when the State "raises" salaries by X %, that means that all the money going for all raises most come from this X %.

Now, regular civil servants are promoted by moving from line to (better-paying) line, and the number of each kind of line is micromanaged from above. That is how civil servants get promotional raises, as opposed to the across-the-board and other raises, which come from the X %. On the other hand, professors stay on the line they were initially hired on, so the money for promotional raises (to Associate and Full Professor) comes from our X %. That's why there is less than X % left over for everyone else that year.

In 1997, the Legislature mandated an across-the-board raise of 2.78 % for everyone, which meant that the promotional raise money had to come from ... elsewhere. We don't know where this money came from, or whether the trick of getting additional money for promotions is a repeatable action. Anyway, that's why most of us usually get less than what most others get. And there's the rub: do we want to get the raises that others do --- and have our promotions limited by micromanagement from above? Or do we prefer the current system? Or do we want something else? Let us know your thoughts.

A New Charter

These are interesting times for both the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) and the University of South Florida. In such times, one can get so wrapped up in immediate concerns that one fails to see what is happening on a larger scale. In such times, it is helpful to stop and take a long look ahead.

Towards this end, we are composing a new charter. This is a serious enterprise: the charter defines the mission of the chapter and the means by which the chapter is to accomplish its mission.

Historically, the UFF has represented the faculty on job-related matters. This is a union, after all. The USF Chapter has dealt with the USF administration, handled Step 1 grievances, represented the USF faculty to the UFF, and in general served as the local base for the UFF.

But what is the chapter for? Is it doing what it should be doing? If so, how can it do better? If not, what should it do? And how should it do what it does? This is not merely a social discussion. The stakes are high. Tenure is being diluted, the legislature is trying to funnel more and more students into the system without increasing resources, and the much stressed administration is wreaking occasional havoc on members. The UFF, and the Chapter, will have much to do during the coming years.

During this academic year, we hope to hold a discussion within the bargaining unit (that means YOU) on how the Chapter should deal these issues. We encourage members to join in, and non-members to join the UFF and join in. If you are interested, please contact us.

Remember, fellow USF/UFF members, YOU ARE THE CHAPTER. Come and join in.

Meetings

(Almost) every payday, there is a joint meeting of the UFF/USF Chapter and the UFF USF Executive Committee at noon. The Chapter is just all of us UFF members here at USF, while the Executive Committee consists of the union officers (whom we elect each year). This sounds very impressive, but its really quite informal (jeans allowed). Furthermore, a `light' lunch (sandwiches and soda pop) is available for a $ 1 contribution. Come and join the movement.

Chapter

You can contact the Chapter by leaving a message at the office (974-2428), or sending a fax to 974-2081, or mail to the UFF at MHH 223. Or send an e-mail message to uff@cyber.acomp.usf.edu.

Membership

If you are not a member, we urge you to consider joining. The union bargains for you, enforces your contract, and offers services.