Bargaining Update from May 13, 2026

Dear FSU Colleagues,

Welcome to the 2026 bargaining season! We will keep you updated as negotiations continue.

Our first bargaining session was held May 13. This year is a reopener year, which means both UFF and the BOT team can open two articles in addition to salaries, which we negotiate every year. The UFF team proposed that the teams agree to only open salaries, but the BOT team did not agree to that proposal, so the UFF team proposed opening Article 17, Leaves, and a new article, Article 32, regarding Artificial Intelligence (we are asking for input on that as we proceed; please see below). The BOT team opened Article 3, UFF Rights, and Article 10, Performance Evaluations. A discussion of the proposals can be found below.

·       UFF’s salary proposal includes 3.8% or $3,800 for Performance Increases (the basis for that number is the inflation rate that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week for April), 3.0% for Department Merit, and $2 million for Market Equity. We maintained the same promotion, Post-Tenure Review (PTR), and Sustained Performance increases as well as the same Administrative Discretion Increases (ADI). Our focus on Performance Increases, Department Merit, and Market Equity is based on the results of our Faculty Poll, conducted in February of this year. Please see the chart below for more information.

·         UFF’s proposed Article 17, Leaves, expands parental leave to a broader family leave policy and increases the time limit from 6 months with a max of 2 qualifying events to a total of 9 months that can be split as needed for family leave. We also proposed expanding bereavement leave from 2 days to 5 days, or 7 days if the faculty member must travel more than 500 miles.

·         UFF’s newly proposed Article 32, Artificial Intelligence, is not yet ready to pass across the table, but we know this is a faculty priority based on our Faculty Poll. We want to hear from you and include your priorities before finalizing our proposal. If you have suggestions regarding what could be included in an Artificial Intelligence article (or what you don’t want to see), please contact me at jennifer.proffitt@gmail.com

·         The BOT team’s proposed Article 3, UFF Rights, adopts language from SB 1296 regarding release time. It would substantially damage our ability to represent you at the bargaining table, in disciplinary and investigatory proceedings, and in contract enforcement. We are working with union lawyers to mitigate the impact.

·         The BOT team’s proposed Article 10, Performance Evaluations, would include chairs in a PTR-like Administrator Review process. As you may recall, the Board of Governors’ (BOG) Post-Tenure Review (PTR) guidelines excluded chairs from PTR, which we found unfair because chairs would not be eligible for PTR compensation for successful reviews. We attempted to include chairs in the process, but the BOT team at the time said we could not include chairs in PTR evaluations because the BOG regulation said we couldn’t. The BOT is now proposing an Administrator Review process that includes some of the same expectations and procedures as PTR and the same rankings, but not the same consequences, such as being fired for the rating of “Unsatisfactory.” We would like to hear from you if you have feedback regarding the BOT’s proposal for Administrator Review, which can be found here. Please contact Michael Buchler at michael.buchler@gmail.com.

Please join us at bargaining Wednesday, May 20, from 2–5 in the Training Center across from the stadium or on Zoom and make your voice heard by joining your faculty union.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Proffitt

UFF-FSU Co-Chief Negotiator and Professor of Communication