2017-19 Contract Negotiations Completed; Ratification Vote Set for Dec. 6-7

The UF Chapter of United Faculty of Florida and representatives of the University of Florida have completed negotiations on the 2017-2019 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). It is now available for review by all members of the bargaining unit, in preparation for a ratification vote. If ratified, the new contract will take effect on January 1, 2017.

Contract Ratification Voting is December 6 and 7

Voting on whether or not to ratify the proposed contract will take place 10 am – 3 pm on Tuesday, December 6, and Wednesday, December 7 at the following locations: Library West Colonnade, Reitz Union walkway, PK Yonge. All members of the UFF Bargaining Unit are Eligible to vote regardless of union membership. Voting is by secret ballot.

Highlights of the Proposed Contract

Contract negotiations entail compromise, and while a number of concerns the faculty has identified remain to be resolved, we are pleased to have made progress in several areas. A summary of all changes to the CBA is available here. Some notable changes are as follows:

2017 Raises:

1.5% across the board starting 1 January 2017.
Faculty members in non tenure-accruing appointments whose salary is less than $50,000 will receive an additional pay increase ranging from $1500 to $5000, depending on current salary.
PKY faculty making less than $50,000 will receive a $750 raise. Many salary supplements raised to be comparable with Alachua County School System.

Sabbaticals: Eligibility for sabbaticals remains the same (six-years of full-time service), but application can now be made during the sixth year for a sabbatical during the seventh (instead of the eighth). All sabbaticals are for one semester, with the option to request a second semester with the initial application.

Parental Leave: Parental leave is increased from 6 weeks to 12 weeks, to be paid, as before, with other accrued leave time. This remains in effect until an appointed task force develops a comprehensive leave plan, at which time this CBA is re-opened to negotiate any changes.

Due Process: Clarifications of charges and notification deadlines for discipline and discrimination investigations have been added to the contract.

Contract Negotiation is an ongoing process: we negotiate the salary article every year and the full contract every three years. Our bargaining team is comprised of faculty members like you. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about bargaining or about how to help in future rounds of negotiations. And, of course, if you are not yet a UFF member, I urge you to join now.