UFF/USF Chapter Meeting
March 21, 2008
In attendance: S. Dorn, S. Fernandez, M. Klisch, J. Martin, G.McColm, M. Moats, J. Notaro, E. Odgaard, R. Welker, K. White, S. Wohlmuth.
The meeting convened at about 12:00 p.m.
News
Two news items were discussed.
1. Workload: There is evidence of some administrators requesting faculty to assume extra duties either without compensation or with compensation negotiated with the faculty outside the framework of the contract. This can be unlawful (example: a faculty member teaching a course for free, as a result of pressure from a supervisor),and President Dorn asked members to report to him of any systemic attempt to persuade or pressure faculty to assume extra work loads.
2. Regional Campuses: The Chapter heard several reports of problems at regional campuses: (i) the autonomy of the St. Petersburg IT is being threatened and (ii) faculty at Lakeland are being warned to stay away from the union – and there have been non-reappointments and declining morale there. The Chapter discussed options for dealing with the situation.
It was proposed that part of the problem may be educational, and there were recommendations that the Chapter leadership make greater efforts to educate administrators about their contractual obligations to faculty. This includes subscriptions to the Biweekly.
Consultation
The UFF will be consulting with the administration on April 4 and April 15. The issues to be discussed must be submitted in advance. The following issues were suggested: the budget situation, layoffs, the centralization of IT and other operations, departmental autonomy, the instructor promotion track, intellectual property rights, reclassification of employees out of unit, and tenure & promotion criteria.
Query from Tallahassee:
Grievance Support for Non-Members
Traditionally, UFF assisted non-members in grievances. This policy is being revisited. PERC has recently ruled that UFF can choose whether or not to assist non-members, and FEA will not compensate UFF for assisting a grievant who was not a member as of the start of the grievance. There was discussion of this issue.
Compensation for Conference Participation
Two motions were made on compensation for members representing the Chapter at upcoming meetings.
Motion
that the Chapter provide sufficient funds so that senators attending the upcoming UFF Senate meeting will be fully compensated for room charges when opting to stay in a single room. Motion seconded and approved.
Motion
that the Chapter provide sufficient funds so that chapter members attending the upcoming NEA/AFT Higher Education Conference will be fully compensated for room charges when opting to stay in a single room. Motion seconded and approved.
Conclusion
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 1:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted by Greg McColm.