Join UFF!

The United Faculty of Florida bargains and enforces a contract between the employees of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit and the USF System Board of Trustees.  This contract is the legally authoritative document — superseding all university rules and regulations and handbooks — on the terms and conditions of employment.

The UFF USF Bargaining Unit consists of:

  • All faculty except those in the Health Sciences Center — except that faculty of the Colleges of Nursing and Public Health are members of the Bargaining Unit.  This includes instructors, lecturers, and visiting professors, but not adjuncts.
  • All department chairs in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Education.
  • Many professionals, including advisers, librarians, researchers and scientists, and departmental assistants and associates.
These are the people whose terms and conditions of employment are determined by the contract UFF bargains.

The ultimate source of influence and authority of a union is the membership of the employees it represents, which is why ALL members of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit — faculty and university professionals — should join the union.

In addition, faculty and university professionals within the bargaining unit are NOT automatically members of UFF. You must complete and sign a membership form and send it to UFF in order to become a member. In addition to guaranteeing yourself free representation in any grievance and arbitration proceedings that you may need to initiate in the future, by becoming a UFF member you will:

  • Strengthen the voice of faculty in negotiations;
  • Support our lobbying efforts for better higher education funding and academic excellence;
  • Receive professional protection by way of a free $1 million professional liability policy;
  • Obtain the right to vote in UFF elections and thereby influence UFF bargaining priorities;
  • Gain access to a variety of “members only” workshops, events and services, including free life insurance policies and legal representation;
  • Receive free professional publications and literature about national higher education issues.

In addition, UFF will not provide grievance representation to faculty who were not dues-paying UFF members at the time when the grievable incident occurred. UFF will represent any UFF member who was a member at the time of the contract violation.

To join the movement, download and fill in the membership form, and mail it to PO Box 30238, USF-Tampa via campus mail.