A Report to the Membership from UFF-FIU Chapter President
October 5, 2010
Dear FIU Colleague:
On behalf of the FIU Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida, welcome to the new 2010-2011 Academic Year! Please put Oct. 29 from 12:30-2:30 on your calendars for our fall Chapter meeting (in the Wertheim Conservatory with lunch provided) and Dec. 9 from 4:30-7:30 for our Holiday party (in the Faculty Club, complete with food, libations and music)! Note also our monthly open houses on Oct. 14 and Nov. 18 from 3:30-6:30 (in the UFF office, PC 111 with libations, snacks and conviviality).
Thank you for voting for our newly-ratified contract (one of the best turn-outs in years)! As you are already aware, there are added benefits that include additional tuition credits, a raise this year and a merit increase for next fall, as well as parity between in-load and overload assignments in the on-line policy, as well as intellectual property rights. (See our website for the specific changes to the contract language.) The Bargaining Team worked tirelessly throughout the summer to make these benefits possible by the beginning of this Academic Year. We begin bargaining for the full book contract in October of this year, and we will be discussing some of those proposed changes at our Oct. 29 meeting.
Last May the UFF published a Quality of Life report based on research conducted by RISEP that yielded some unexpected (as well as expected) information. Issues regarding inequalities for Instructors and women emerged. Therefore the UFF Executive Committee decided to spend a full day in strategic planning on Aug. 16 to deal with these and other issues. Outcomes included a task force, headed by Len Bliss, to study gender inequalities here at FIU, as well as a task force on issues affecting Instructors, headed by Lorna Veraldi. Committees met--and in some cases were newly-formed--that include political action, membership, marketing, budget and finance, and nominating/internal organizing. If you would like to be involved on any of these committees and/or have an interest in becoming a UFF Senator, please contact me.
The UFF has also engaged Bruce Nissen, from the Center for Labor Research and Studies, to offer ongoing training in Grievances. This will be a course offered to any interested UFF member and will consist of several sessions and practical applications throughout the year. The first session will be Oct. 21 from 3-4:45 in the Labor Center Rm 309. If you are interested in being part of the team that deals with grievances, or just want to know more about the process and/or your contract, please contact me for more information and/or simply come to the Oct. 21 session.
In addition, two members of the EC and I met in consultation with Provost Wartzok on Sept. 3 to discuss the non-tenured faculty promotion process and the third-year review process. Outcomes from that meeting included clarification by the Provost of non-tenured faculty promotion, as well as a forthcoming clarification, standardization and simplification by Academic Affairs of the third-year review process. The UFF will be offering a session in the late fall to assist faculty preparing for the third-year review.
As President of the UFF-FIU, I would like to invite you to ask your non-UFF member colleagues to join us. Remind them that the UFF is the collective independent voice of the Faculty at FIU. UFF works on behalf of all Faculty members to ensure that we have a significant role in determining the terms and conditions under which we work. By joining the UFF they strengthen our bargaining power. Our collective bargaining agreement has the status of law and is enforceable. We are currently at 52% but we could be even stronger. They also will be represented by UFF in the event of a grievance or complaint, but only if they are UFF members at the time of the action leading to the grievance. And their dues (1% of salary, deducted by HR from your paycheck) are tax deductible. Other benefits include a $1,000,000 liability policy for employment related suits, a free consultation with an attorney each year for any personal legal matters, free credit counseling and financial planning through AFT, to name a few. And lastly, UFF members are an integral part of our vibrant academic community. They are often selected for honors and awards for service, teaching and scholarship. I am honored to have UFF members as colleagues.
Feel free to contact me or any of the UFF Senators for questions or support. I hope to see many of you on Oct. 29.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kathleen L. Wilson
UFF-FIU Chapter President
(305) 348-3212