Bargaining
UFF-UF negotiates the collective bargaining agreement (CBA, or “contract”) for faculty in our bargaining unit. This contract is legally binding and it defines our working conditions at UF.
Why Collective Bargaining?
Collective bargaining ensures that faculty have a say in shaping our working conditions.
Under state and federal labor labor, we have a legal right to collectively bargain “terms and conditions of employment” with the UF administration. These terms and conditions of employment cover almost every aspect of our working lives, including:
- Salaries and raises
- Benefits and leaves
- Processes and criteria for evaluation, tenure, and promotion
- Academic freedom protections
- Disciplinary processes and due process rights
Without our contract and collective bargaining rights, UF would be free to change policies about our work at their discretion and do so without faculty input. Each individual faculty member would then have to advocate for their own interests alone.
About Bargaining
Our Bargaining Committee (or ‘bargaining team,’ as we often call the committee) is made entirely of volunteer faculty members, not lawyers or union staff. We determine our priorities, research and write proposals, and then negotiate with representatives of the UF Board of Trustees (BOT) to reach an agreement acceptable to both of us.
We negotiate the full contract every three years and bargain annual raises every fall semester. When necessary, we also negotiate memoranda of understanding (MOUs), which function as term-limited amendments to the contract.
Agreements between UFF-UF and UF BOT bargaining teams must be ratified by both the faculty bargaining unit and the BOT members. That means that when UFF-UF and the UF administration reach a tentative agreement on an MOU, annual raises, or the full contract, you have the power to vote on whether or not you accept it.
Bargaining Resources
Read the Contract
Current and past contracts are available on the Your Contract page.
Updates
Bargaining updates are shared in our regular chapter newsletters. See the Newsletter Archive.
Recordings
Bargaining session recordings since March 2020 are available on our Bargaining Archive page.
Bargaining Journal & Proposals
Proposals and supporting documents from both the union and UF are available to read in our full contract bargaining journal. Documents specific to raises can be found in our bargaining journal for salary reopeners.
Contact the Bargaining Team
Whether you’d like to join the team or just want to express your priorities for the contract, we welcome union members to contact the bargaining team any time. Reach out to uff-uf-bargaining@googlegroups.com.