UFF-UF: for immediate Press Release
Contact: president@uff-uf.org,
What: Impasse Hearing: University of Florida Board of Trustees (BoT) declared impasse on negotiations with UFF-UF (faculty union) on crucial issues including Post Tenure Review (PTR) and Grievance Resolution.
When: Jan 8, 2026, 9:30am
Where: University of Florida Reitz Union ground floor Senate Chamber
[Link for Zoom Webinar ]
Issues at Stake: At stake in this impasse hearing is one of the most pressing questions in contemporary higher education: should faculty have a meaningful voice in governing their institutions?
Specifically, we will defend the following:
- The decisive role of peer faculty experts for initiation, development, and adoption of meaningful post tenure review (PTR) evaluation criteria, the sole basis for performance evaluation. We reject topdown decreed criteria that do not reflect our disciplines or academic tradition.
- The formal consultative role of peer faculty members in PTR evaluations.
- Rigorous establishment of just cause prior to termination consideration: faculty entitlement to due process, including progressive and reasonable improvement plans after receiving overall unsatisfactory annual evaluations during PTR period.
- A fair grievance process with outcomes decided by an impartial panel designated by the president, led by a competent, neutral party outside the supervisory chain of command of the president.
- Continuation of longstanding practices including release time for union volunteers carrying out core union functions, such as upholding faculty rights to collectively bargain and enforce a contract under the FL constitution.
BACKGROUND
From 12/10/2025 union newsletter
ATTEND IMPASSE HEARING: THURS., 8 JAN., AT 9AM
Your union needs you at the UFF-UF impasse hearing on Thurs., 8 Jan., at 9am (Reitz Union Faculty Senate Chamber).
This hearing is a vital flashpoint in the larger, ongoing contest for shared governance, both at UF and at institutions of higher learning across the country. It is also a unique opportunity to demonstrate broad support for your union’s bargaining positions.
Make a commitment to stand with your UFF-UF Bargaining Team at the impasse hearing: RSVP for the hearing today! Doing so will give you access to calendar reminders and the Zoom link for attending virtually.
You will make the biggest impact by attending this hearing in person. As we’ll describe below, the impasse process is, in important respects, rigged in favor of the UF administration. The only way we can make it work for faculty is by turning out in force and applying pressure to the BoT. We cannot overstate the significance of having a packed room at the impasse hearing: we must demonstrate to the university, to the Special Magistrate who presides over the hearing, and to each other that faculty want a fair contract and a strong voice in university governance.
What exactly are we asking you to do? You will not need to speak. We are simply asking you to be present, bring a colleague, and fill every seat. The presence of a large faculty audience dramatically shifts the energy in the room; it demonstrates your support for the union in the eyes of the UF BoT; and it provides invaluable encouragement to your union representatives.
(Finally, if you’re wondering why we chose such an inconvenient date for this hearing, we didn’t choose it! This date was imposed on us by the Public Employees Relations Commission, the FL state body that regulates public sector labor relations.)
Still in the dark about impasse and what it entails? Read our primer from Oct. 2025!
WHAT IS AN IMPASSE HEARING AND WHY IS IT HAPPENING?
When the parties to union contract negotiations cannot reach an agreement, they enter a conflict-resolution process called “impasse” that culminates in an impasse hearing. On Jan 8, UFF-UF and the UF Board of Trustees (BoT) will each defend their respective positions before an impartial legal official known as a Special Magistrate.
After the hearing, the Special Magistrate will issue a ruling as to which of the two contending parties offered the more convincing arguments. Unfortunately, this ruling is non-binding, meaning that the Special Magistrate does not resolve the dispute. Instead, impasse ends when the UF BoT imposes their desired outcome.
Impasse, in short, is a conflict-resolution process in which the BoT can, in principle, always get their way.
Still in the dark about impasse and what it entails? Read our primer from Oct. 2025!
WHY DOES THE IMPASSE HEARING MATTER AND WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Why it matters
While the Special Magistrate’s ruling in the impasse hearing is non-binding, the hearing itself is nevertheless a critical opportunity to pressure the UF BoT and demonstrate the seriousness of your union’s demands.
We will apply pressure at the hearing itself by turning out in force and showing the BoT that large numbers of faculty stand behind the union’s positions.
We will also apply pressure after the hearing when the Special Magistrate rules (as we expect) in our favor. A ruling in the union’s favor puts the university in an incredibly awkward position should they seek to enact their desired outcomes. UF works hard to cultivate a positive public image. And the phrase “It’s great to be a Florida Gator” sounds a lot less convincing when the university has to impose its will, not just on a restive faculty, but in express violation of a Special Magistrate’s ruling.
What’s at stake
At stake in January’s impasse hearing is one of the most pressing questions in contemporary higher education: should faculty have a meaningful voice in governing their institutions?
Strip away the legalese of the contract articles at impasse, and this entire dispute comes down to two simple issues: the role of faculty in deciding post-tenure review criteria and the role of neutral arbitrators in deciding faculty disputes with administration.
Your union holds that faculty should take the lead in determining their evaluation criteria because we know our disciplines best. By contrast, the UF BoT holds that faculty should be subject to arbitrary, administration-imposed metrics.
Your union holds that, while the old system of independent arbitration may now be illegal under a 2023 law, faculty are still entitled to independent judgement when their contractual rights are violated. By contrast, the UF BoT holds that university administrators themselves should play investigator, judge, and jury in all disputes.
These issues are important in their own right. But they’re most urgently important as part of a broader struggle for shared governance, academic freedom, and faculty rights.
In Florida and throughout the US, hostile forces are seeking to strip faculty of their traditional role in shared governance. They’re seeking to restrict what we can teach, what we can research, and how we can serve. And they’re eager to subject faculty to arbitrary and, in some cases, mob discipline – dispatching hard-working faculty any time an upset student or social media user grabs the attention of an ambitious politician.
Here at UF, we cannot fight all of these fights. But we can play our part in a larger struggle for the future of higher education. So make a promise today to do your part and RSVP for the UFF-UF impasse hearing on Thurs., 8 Jan., at 9am.
Still in the dark about impasse and what it entails? Read our primer from Oct. 2025!