Uncommon Sense
The Newsletter of the United Faculty of
(an FEA [AFT & NEA] affiliate)
Volume 12, Number 3 Winter, 2005
The Voice of the University Professional
Elections
Each spring, the USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida elects its President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and some UFF Senators and FEA Delegates. Only union members may make nominations, stand for election, run, and vote. We encourage all union members to vote, and to consider standing for election.
If you would like to stand for election, or if you think someone else would, please send a letter of nomination to:
Greg McColm, Election Committee
c/o Dept. of Mathematics
PHY114, USF-Tampa
The note should contain:
Your name,
The name of the nominee
The office you are nominating for
All nominations – including permission by the nominee to be a candidate – must be received by February 11.
All nominees are strongly encouraged to compose a short (250 words or less) self-description, which must be received by February 11 to be included in the ballot materials.
Election will be by secret mail ballot by (campus/home address); members will be responsible for getting their ballots returned by the deadline. The ballots will be sent out by Feb. 17, and be due by Friday, March 11; they will be counted shortly afterwards at a session to which all union members are invited to attend.
On April 1, newly elected officers and representatives formally assume their duties.
Ratification!
On December 13 last year, President Judy Genshaft and President Roy Weatherford signed the 2004 – 2007 Collective Bar-gaining Agreement, the contract we have all worked so long and hard for. Weatherford said, “This isn't a victory party; it's a success party,” and Genshaft said, “We're the model ... we both want what's best for USF.”
Of course, real life goes on. The contract needs to be enforced, and salary (and other issues) will be bargained again this summer. But enjoy the champagne moment.
The Offices
The USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida consists of the members of the union in the USF Bargaining Unit. The Chapter is a participatory democracy: policy is set at the Chapter meetings on Friday paydays: all Chapter members are invited to attend.
The Chapter has three kinds of positions: elected executive positions, elected legislative positions, and appointed positions. Here are the elected executives:
The President is the chief executive and chief spokesperson of the chapter.
The Vice President assists the president, and fills the president’s office if necessary.
The Secretary composes minutes and maintains other records the Chapter requires.
The Treasurer supervises the finances of the Chapter.
There are two kinds of elected representative positions.
A Senator represents USF at the UFF
Senate meetings: one meeting is in late spring
and the other is in early fall. Each is
on a weekend, in
The UFF Senate is the legislative body of the UFF, and sets policy for the UFF. The number of senators from USF depends on union membership at USF (!).
A Delegate represents UFF at the annual
Florida Education Association Assembly.
The FEA is the preeminent union representing teachers in
These are the offices open for election. There are also several appointed offices: all the committees are appointed by the President, who is also an ex officio member of each of the committees.
The Bargaining Chair is the Chapter’s Chief Negotiator, and bargains a new contract every three years – and bargains updates (including salary) for the contract every year. The Bargaining Chair is assisted by a Bargaining Committee.
The Grievance Chair handles “contract enforcement” at USF. If a faculty member feels that their contractual rights have been violated, they have 30 days to file a “grievance,” i.e., a formal complaint of the violation. The faculty member is assisted by a “grievance officer,” who is a member of the Grievance Committee. The Grievance Chair oversees all this, and handles the trickier grievances.
The Membership Chair goes out and persuades faculty to join the union, while the Publicity Chair puts out the newsletters and handles the websites.
We can always use the assistance of volunteers who would like to help their colleagues. The Grievance and Membership Committees would like faculty to think about becoming active.
The Chapter has a Constitution describing these offices, and it is on-line at http://w3.usf.edu/~uff/Laws.html.