UFF’s origins lie in efforts by faculty to protect academic freedom, defend civil liberties, and end racial discrimination at UF.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, UF administrators fired or denied tenure to outspoken advocates of racial integration and faculty rights. Believing that only a binding contract, with strong grievance procedures, could protect faculty from such harassment, UFF pioneers launched the union in 1968. After nearly a decade of struggle, UFF achieved a state-wide collective bargaining agreement in 1976 and since then has remained a vigorous and effective agent in behalf of academic freedom and faculty rights.

— Bob Zieger, UF Professor Emeritus, History – July 2012.

Read more about UFF’s history as it becomes available here or visit the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program for more information.