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By Professor Jennifer Proffitt, UFF-FSU President
Negotiations Concluded
Certainly a lot has happened since the last meeting of the Faculty Senate in April. Most importantly, the UFF-FSU faculty team and the administration/trustees team concluded negotiations for our 2013-2016 collective bargaining agreement. The highlights include salary and benefits improvements, such as:
- Promotion increases of 12% and 15%,
- Performance pay increases of 1.1% to nearly all faculty,
- Merit increases averaging 0.6%,
- Competitive adjustment permanent increases of $1,000 for faculty earning more than $40,000 and $1,400 for faculty earning $40,000 or less
- Sustained performance increases of 3% for full professors and eminent scholars in rank for 7 years who have not already received a sustained performance or salary plan for professors increase,
- More than $1.3 million authorized for discretionary salary increases,
- Domestic Partner Benefits, and the
- Extension of eligibility for paid parental leave to C&G faculty.
Ratification
Ratification voting will be held in various locations across campus on Wednesday, September 25 and Thursday, September 26, with the final count held at 4:15pm in 205B Carothers Hall. Voting is open to all members of the bargaining unit, members and non-members alike. Full text of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2013-2016, the Memorandum of Agreement on promotion raises, the Memorandum of Agreement on Domestic Partner Benefits, and the Memorandum of Agreement regarding Winter Break 2013 dates can be found on our website, uff-fsu.org. Please be sure to vote and encourage your colleagues to vote. We are recommending ratification.
Consultations
We also had two consultations with President Barron and Provost Stokes and other top administrators since the last Faculty Senate meeting, one in May and one in August. The discussions were wide-ranging, including updates regarding the implementation of the New Specialized Faculty Classifications, which should be completed by December 23, and parking, which as we know from Faculty Senate discussions and driving around in circles looking for a spot has become a larger issue on campus the last several months. We were unable to make headway in bargaining regarding parking and parking-related concerns, but will continue to discuss the issue in our consultations. Details about the reclassification project and the minutes from the May consultation can be found on our website. Our next consultation with President Barron and Provost Stokes will be in October.
Legislation
In terms of the legislature, one important development that we are watching is the implementation of HB7029, the bill passed last session that begins the process of awarding credit to corporately-created and -owned online courses, including the massive open online courses known as MOOCs. UFF and its affiliates are eager to help guide the standards by which the Department of Education evaluates these courses.