Category: Minutes

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon on USF Tampa in EDU 150.

Attendance. Nine UFF members, including seven members of the Council.

Minutes. Minutes for March 23 are approved.

President’s Report.

• USF St. Petersburg. Discussion of faculty governance.
• HB 423 consolidating USF. Discussion.

Old Business.

• Coffee in EDU lobby. We will track down who controls the rotunda.
• O. Joanow’s investigation. Discussion.
• College of Nursing. Discussion of assignment issues.

New Business.

• Grievance Workshop. April 20 at 10 am in the MSC Sabal Room.
• Kofi Glover. He is retiring. Discussion.
• Task force on courses for faculty spouses and children. We will seek representation.
• Government Relations. We will seek training.
• Course loads in USFSP. Recent announcements of increased course loads.
• Media Relations. USF and UFF news coverage; discussion about talking to the media.
• Multi-year contracts for instructors. Discussion of implementation.

Reports.

• Treasure. We are solvent.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 18 April 2018.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon on USF Tampa in EDU 150.

Attendance. Eleven UFF members, including nine members of the Council.

Minutes. Minutes for February 23 are approved.

President’s Report.

• Election results. This was the result of the chapter election:
  • Art Shapiro is elected president.
  • Steve Lang is elected vice president.
  • Greg McColm is elected secretary.
  • Sonia Wohlmuth is elected treasurer.
  • Adrienne Berarducci, Karin Braunsberger, Pablo Brescia, Candace Burns, Joy D’Andrea, Cecil Greek, Steve Lang, Richard Manning, Gregory McColm, Vic Peppard, Steve Permuth, Patricia Pettijohn, Frank Pyrtle III, Bob Welker, and Sonia Wohlmuth are elected to the UFF Senate, where Art Shapiro serves ex officio.
  • Karin Braunsberger, Steve Lang, Gregory McColm, Steve Permuth, and Art Shapiro were elected to the FEA Delegate Assembly.

  This leaves us with four vacant senate seats and three vacant assembly seats. These will have to be filled.

• HB 7055 decertifying minority membership K-12 unions. We anticipate litigation.
• HB 423 consolidating USF. Discussion.
• Informal consultation with Academic Affairs. There are many problems at USFSP.

Old Business.

• April 20 Social. Discussion Grievance Training.
• Irregularities at the College of Nursing. Discussion.

New Business.

• Political Education. We will need the Political Education Committee running by summer.

Reports.

• Grievances. Discussion of tenure problems.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 25 March 2018.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon in the Palm Room on USF St. Petersburg.

Attendance. Eleven UFF members, including five members of the Council.

Minutes. Minutes for February 9 are approved.

President’s Report.

• Laurie Byers. Ms. Byers will be our UFF staff for organizing.
• Dismissal of a tenured professor from USFSP. Arbitration is upcoming.

Old Business.

• Faculty use of own books in classes. Discussion of policies under consideration.
• Investigation at USFSP. Update on investigation conducted by Olga Joanow.

New Business.

• Campus security. Discussion of teachers packing guns.
• Effect of possible USF consolidation per HB 423. The location of tenure is an issue.
• Anomalous positions. The College of Nursing has a number of non-tenure-track professors.
• Gun violence. There will be a March for Our Lives on March 24 on Washington, D.C., against gun violence.
  • Motion made and seconded that the UFF USF Senate Delegation shall move a resolution condemning and opposing the Dickey Amendment’s effect of restricting CDC and NIH supported research into gun violence. Motion passes.
• Union-busting legislation. Discussion of HB 7055 and HB 25 / SB 1036.
• Chapter election. Call for nominations.

Reports.

• Grievances. Many tenure-track faculty do not realize that planning for coming up for tenure – including going to the UFF – is something that cannot wait until the last year.
• Tenure & Promotion workshops. There will be one soon.
• Treasurer’ Report. We are solvent.
• Social on February 22. Report.
• Membership. Discussion of proposal that each UFF member recruit one new member.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 22 March 2018.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon in B206 on USF Sarasota / Manatee.

Attendance. Thirteen UFF members, including five members of the Council.

Minutes. Minutes for January 26 are approved.

President’s Report.

• Laurie Byers. Ms. Byers will be our UFF staff for organizing.

Old Business.

• Election. Call for nominations.
• Faculty use of own books in classes. Discussion of policies under consideration.

New Business.

• Effect of possible USF consolidation per HB 423. The location of tenure is an issue.
• Union-busting bills, HB 25 and HB 7055. Discussion.
• Anomalous positions. The College of Nursing has a number of non-tenure-track professors.
• Adjuncts. The SEIU’s certification election for USF adjuncts is underway.
• Political Education Committee. Call for members.

Reports.

• Membership. Discussion.
  • Motion made and seconded to continue the Travel Scholarship Program with same conditions as in previous term, except for five scholarships, the sixth going to a member who votes. Motion passes.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 22 February 2018.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon in EDU 150 on USF Tampa.

Attendance. Eleven UFF members, including nine members of the Council, and two guests.

Minutes. Minutes for January 12 are approved.

President’s Report.

• Laurie Byers. Ms. Byers will be our UFF staff for organizing, while Michael Moats will be our UFF staff for grievances and bargaining.

Reports.

Membership. We will organize flyers, posters, and meetings in HB 25.

• Motion made and seconded that the Chapter shall commission the creation of an online membership form. Motion passes.

Grievances. Every year, there is a grievance hiatus during winter break. This year, the Administration had a problem with it afterwards. Meanwhile, there are problems at USFSP.

Old Business.

• Books. USFSM may attempt to interfere with textbook selection. To be discussed next time.

New Business.

• College of Nursing. UFF is concerned about affairs in the College of Nursing and will recommend a joint exploration with the Administration.
• Summer. There are problems with summer assignments in USFSP.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 4 February 2018.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon in at CDB Restaurant in Tamp.

Attendance. Ten UFF members, including six members of the Council, and two guests.

Minutes. Minutes for December 1 are approved.

President’s Report.

• UFF Governance. UFF President Liz Davenport is leaving FAMU, and has resigned as UFF President.

Old Business.

• Election. The Proposal of the Election Committee is approved, with the modification that ballots will be due on March 20 and counted on March 21.
  • Motion made and seconded that one travel scholarship shall be awarded by lot to an eligible UFF member who votes in this election

New Business.

• Calendar. We will meet on January 12 & 26, February 9 & 23, March 9 & 23, and April 6 & 20, the last meeting in the MSC Sabal Room. The February 9 & 23 meetings will be at USFSP and USFSM.
• SEIU. PERC has denied USF’s appeal, and the USF adjuncts will now have an election to determine if they will be represented by SEIU.

Reports.

• Membership. The Membership Committee will coordinate with the Election Committee.
  • Motion made and seconded that the Chapter shall offer five travel scholarships per rules of the last few cycles, to be awarded in Summer or Fall.
• Communications. The Biweekly will call for members to report accomplishments to be reported in the Biweekly.
• Treasury. We are solvent.
• Grievances. There are lots of grievances outstanding, and tenure & promotion season is coming up.
• Collective Bargaining. Planning for bargaining.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 14 January 2018.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon in EDU 161 in USF Tampa.

Attendance. Twelve UFF members, including seven members of the Council, and one guest.

Minutes. Minutes for November 17 are approved.

President’s Report.

• Calendar. We will meet on January 12 & 26, February 9 & 23, March 9 & 23, and April 6 & 20, preferably in MSC, depending on availability.
• Consultation with the Provost. Discussion.

New Business.

• Chapter Election. The Chapter election will be conducted by an Election Committee, which shall propose an election process at the January 12 Chapter Meeting. Adrienne Berarducci shall be chair of the committee.
• Travel Scholarships. There were 33 applications, and the following recipients were selected by lot: Michael Berson, Iraida Carrion, Jennifer Collins, Sara Flory, Michelle Hughes Miller, and Nathan Johnson. The following alternates were selected by lot, in order: Sarah Van Ingen, Christelle Bouchard, Jean-Francois Biasse.

Old Business.

• USFSP. Discussion.
• Promotion and Tenure Workshops. Discussion.
• Faculty-Authored Texts. Discussion.
• Faculty Handbook. Discussion.

Reports.

• Membership. There will be a campaign in spring.
• Grievances. The precise definition of the Bargaining Unit is an issue.
• Communications. The website will be revisited in spring.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 11 December 2017.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon in EDU 161 in USF Tampa.

Attendance. Nine UFF members, including six members of the Council.

Minutes. Minutes for November 3 are approved.

President’s Report.

• Holiday Social on November 28. There will be a Holiday Social in the Sabal Room by the Top of the Palms on November 28. There will be gifts for UFF members who bring non-members.
• Informal Consultation with Academic Affairs. Discussion of the situation at USFSP.

New Business.

• Membership. We will need to organize a Membership Committee.
• Chapter Election. An Election Committee shall be chosen at the December 1 Chapter Meeting.

Old Business.

• Texts authored by faculty. One major issue is textbook affordability.
• Holiday Party. There will be a luncheon at the Top of the Palms on Tuesday, November 28.

Reports.

• Grievances. There was a grievance training at USFSP last week, and another is scheduled for December 1 on USF Tampa from 10 am to 12 pm in EDU 161. Discussion of outstanding issues
• Treasury. We are solvent.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 24 November 2017.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held at 12 noon in EDU 161 in USF Tampa.

Attendance. Ten UFF members, including eight members of the Council.

Minutes. Minutes for October 6 and October 20 are approved.

President’s Report.

• SEIU. PERC’s hearing officer recommended approval of SEIU’s petition for an election for adjuncts.

New Business.

• UFF Senate Meeting. The UFF Senate Meeting was on Oc.t 21 – 22.

Old Business.

• Texts authored by faculty. There is now a USFT committee looking into the use of books authored by the instructor.
• Holiday Party. There will be a luncheon at the Top of the Palms on Tuesday, November 28.

Reports.

• Grievances. There are a lot of ongoing and potential grievances. Discussion.
• Treasury. We are solvent.
• Collective Bargaining. CAS is considering extending the tenure probationary period.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 5 November 2017.

USF-UFF Chapter Meeting

Time & Place. The Chapter Meeting was held in B226 in USF Sarasota / Manatee.

Attendance. Ten UFF members, including five members of the Council, and two guests.

President’s Report.

• Facilitating Achievement of Pre-eminence. UFF and the Administration worked together on achieving one of the benchmarks for pre-eminence.
• SEIU. PERC’s hearing officer recommended approval of SEIU’s petition for an election for adjuncts.

New Business.

• UFF Senate Meeting. The UFF Senate Meeting is on Oc.t 21 – 22, and there will be a number of amendments to the constitution and bylaws.
• Situation at USFSP. Discussion of the Administrative situation.

Old Business.

• Texts authored by faculty. USFSM is working on a policy regarding faculty who use texts that they wrote themselves.

Reports.

• Grievances. UFF has grievance representatives at each campus.
• Membership. There will be a holiday luncheon on Tuesday, November 30.
• Treasury. We are solvent.
• Collective Bargaining. Bargaining will commence next fall.

Good of the Order.
We are grateful to Scott Perry for making local arrangments.

These minutes respectfully submitted by G. McColm on 30 October 2017.