UFF-UWF has scheduled a virtual faculty ratification vote for the 2020-2023 “Fullbook” Collective Bargaining Agreement. Voting will open on Wednesday, Nov. 18 and close at 11:59p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Voting will take place electronically. In-unit faculty will receive a verifiable voting email to their UWF email address from Helois (heliosvoting.org). (UFF will message faculty again once the email invitations to vote have gone out to individual faculty.) The contract does not become official until it is ratified by both the UWF in-unit faculty and the UWF-BOT. All in-unit faculty are eligible to vote. The UFF-UWF bargaining team fully supports the ratification of the contract. Ratification documents are included below.
The 2020-2023 “Fullbook” Collective Bargaining Agreement reflects the following contract items:
Article 6: Nondiscrimination
The parties agreed to updated language for clarity and/or compliance throughout the article.
Article 9: Appointment
The parties agree that faculty are required to accept their supplemental summer contracts within 7 days of receipt of the offer (in addition to updating language for clarity and/or compliance throughout the article.) UFF will be messaging faculty to remind them of this timeline prior to the summer academic term.
Article 19: Leaves
The parties agreed that faculty will now be allowed to utilize the Paid Parental Leave program twice in a faculty member’s career rather than just once as was previously stated in the CBA (in addition to updating language for clarity and/or compliance throughout the article).
Article 22: Grievance Procedure and Arbitration
The parties agreed to new voluntary mediation language in the grievance article (in addition to updating language for clarity and/or compliance throughout the article).
Article 24: Sabbaticals
The parties agreed to introduce a new third sabbatical option into the contract for a full-year (fall and spring semester) sabbatical, two semesters at 2/3rd pay (which would be competitive in the same manner as the current one-semester sabbatical at full pay is competitive). The two current sabbatical options (full academic year at 1/2 pay and 1 semester at full pay) remain unchanged in the CBA.
Article 25: Salary
Article 25 was TAed as “status quo,” meaning there is no cost-of-living increase this year because of the financial challenges UWF faces. However, promotion and SPE increases remain active and intact in the CBA.
Article 26: Benefits
The parties agreed to permanently raise the age cap on phased retirement to 66 from 65 (in addition to updating language for clarity and/or compliance throughout the article.) Please note that this permanent increase in the phased retirement age cap is in addition to the temporary removal of the age cap entirely as contained in the MOU discussed below.
Memorandum of Understanding – COVID-19
The parties agreed, through impact bargaining last spring, to an MOU regarding the impacts of the transition to online teaching mid-semester as a result of COVID-19.
Memorandum of Understanding – Expanded Access to Phased Retirement
The parties signed an MOU lifting the age cap on phased retirement to allow eligible faculty above 65 (who normally are not eligible to participate) to participate in phased retirement. Faculty age 65 or older may declare this year or next year only their intention to participate in phased retirement. The phased retirement program in the CBA allows faculty to declare their intention to retire, to retire in a window from 90 – 180 from the declaration, and to begin drawing their retirement. Faculty must then wait 12 months prior to reemployment in an FRS institution as per Florida statutes and the FRS. Following the 12-month period, faculty are reemployed by UWF for 1/2 time at 1/2 pay for up to five years under the phased retirement program. UFF will be following up with faculty on additional information about this process and limited-time window following ratification of the contract.
Memorandum of Understanding – Senior Lecturers, Senior Instructors, Senior Research Associates
The parties agree to an MOU establishing the positions at UWF of Senior Lecturer, Senior Instructor, and Senior Research Associate with PERC. There is not a timeline for implementation of these promotion opportunities, but, in our current fiscal environment, UFF is pleased the university will establish these positions with PERC and include them officially at UWF.
Memorandum of Understanding – UFF Release Time Memorandum of Understanding
The parties agreed to an MOU lifting the UFF release time restrictions for the 2020-2021 academic year.
All other contract articles are “Status Quo.”
For more information about the ratification vote, to review the agreed-upon contract, and to learn more about your UFF-UWF chapter, please consult the following documents. Underlined language in the article represents proposed new language and strike-through language represents language that is proposed to be struck.
Additional items available here:
uffuwf.org 