Submitted by John Leavey, Chief Negotiator and Professor of English

UFF-UF’s bargaining team has been meeting regularly with the Board of Trustees (BOT) negotiators towards agreement on a successor contract to the one expiring in 2013. We believe that we are making good progress towards agreement on a strong contract that protects faculty rights and provides improved benefits, and the shared hope of the two parties is to complete negotiations by as early as the end of this year. Meanwhile, tentative agreement has been reached on allowing this year’s Salary Performance Program (SPP) and discretionary raises to go forward immediately upon ratification of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Announcement of the vote on this MOU for ratification is to follow shortly, with a slight increase in funds devoted to SPP. Finally, according to the current contract, the BOT was to provide at least $1.5M in support for the Faculty Enhancement Opportunity program (FEO) by December 2012. The BOT has met and exceeded its requirements. It spent $2.03M in the bargaining unit on FEOs, and we are in negotiations regarding this type of program and others related to it for the new contract. No further FEO applications will be funded within the bargaining unit, although the University is considering one final round for members outside of the bargaining unit.

If you have any comment about UFF-UF’S bargaining positions or are interested in getting involved in bargaining, contact John Leavey at mybargainingteam@uff-uf.org