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Dear FSU Colleagues,
The FSU Board of Trustees (BOT) and United Faculty of Florida FSU (UFF-FSU) bargaining teams resumed negotiations for the 2026-2027 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on Wednesday, July 15. The negotiators were joined by several additional FSU faculty members in person and via Zoom. The presence of these observers was greatly appreciated by our faculty bargaining team. Thank you!
Issues discussed included a memorandum of agreement (MOA) establishing a pilot program to reward department chairs for their administrative contributions, artificial intelligence (AI), leaves, UFF-FSU rights, and salaries.
Bargaining team co-chair Jennifer Proffitt and the UFF-FSU team presented a counter-proposal on the MOA regarding administrative service contributions and evaluations. A tentative agreement appears to be in the making. The latest proposals from each side can be seen HERE and HERE.
The BOT team next presented a counter-proposal on AI (Article 32). Although the parties made progress, there are still important differences to be resolved regarding faculty control. The latest BOT proposal can be seen HERE.
The next topic discussed was leaves (Article 17). The BOT team continues to resist expanding our current paid parental leave to a broader paid family leave extending to all immediate family members such as elderly parents or children. The latest UFF proposal can be seen HERE.
Dr. Proffitt and the UFF-FSU team also presented what is essentially a status quo or “no change” proposal on UFF rights (Article 3). The parties disagree on faculty union service compensation implications of new Florida legislation (SB 1296)—such as handling grievances and bargaining the CBA. SUS universities around the state are taking varied approaches, with FSU’s BOT team taking a relatively aggressive stance to limit recognition and compensation of UFF-FSU service on behalf of the bargaining unit. The UFF proposal can be seen HERE.
Following a short caucus, the teams resumed negotiation with the BOT team offering a new salary proposal (Article 23 of the CBA). As with previous BOT proposals this year, the vast majority of FSU faculty, about 90 percent, would receive no permanent raise. The BOT team previously offered a 1% one-time bonus for all bargaining unit faculty. In the latest offer, the BOT team increased this to 1.25%. Such proposals are very disappointing in light of FSU’s funding and statements about legislative success in funding FSU priorities. The latest salary proposal from the BOT can be seen HERE.
The parties agreed to adjourn and resume negotiations on Wednesday, July 22, at 2pm at the Training Center. If you cannot attend in person, a Zoom option is available. We are switching our listservs to a new server this week, so we may not be able to send a reminder to attend bargaining Wednesday.
You can help! Attending or Zooming bargaining sessions helps to convey that faculty are concerned about salaries and other issues. Your UFF membership helps convey that concern as well. If you are already a member, thank you! If you are not already a member, please join,
On behalf of the faculty bargaining team,
Jack Fiorito, UFF-FSU Vice President and Bargaining Team Member
Jack Fiorito
J. Frank Dame Professor of Management
Herbert Wertheim College of Business
Florida State University