The UNF chapter of the United Faculty of Florida has decided to provide its members and nonmembers alike with brief factual tidbits (Did You Know?) designed to inform faculty of their rights and to engage faculty and administration in fruitful discussions on issues related to our work and our shared goals. The information conveyed in these segments more often than not directly relates to the performance of faculty members’ contacted duties.
These “did you know” segments arise from the questions and issues that the union confronts on a regular basis. Many of the topics in the Did You Know? messages are designed to dispel misconceptions promulgated by ignorance of the CBA, the law, or common institutional practices.
Summer Requirements
The assignment of a course during a summer term does not include other credit-generating activities such as thesis or dissertation supervision, directed individual studies, supervised teaching or research/scholarship, or supervision of interns. No faculty member shall be required to undertake such activities without compensation. Furthermore, faculty members who have not been assigned a summer course shall not be required to undertake committee work without compensation. Summer Office Hours. Faculty members shall maintain not less than two (2) office hours per week for the first course they are assigned to teach during the summer and one (1) office hour per week ...
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Union Membership Helps you Save Money!
UFF members are automatically members of NEA, AFT, and FEA, and get access their benefits programs.
- $1 million employment liability coverage
- Two free 30-minute consultations with a participating attorney each year.
- Free financial planning services and consumer information
- Free classroom resources
- Special rates on auto and home loans, mortgages, auto and home insurance policies, and disability insurance
- Discounts on hotels, auto buying, car rentals, moving costs, cellular phone plans, computers, books and media, dining, theme park tickets, movie tickets, and pet insurance.
- Scholarship programs for members’ children.
- The Union Plus credit card. After 3 months as a cardholder, you ...
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Union Dues may be Tax Deductible
As an UFF-UNF member, your dues are typically deducted from your paycheck and are considered after-tax deductions, meaning tax is withheld from your paycheck before your dues are paid. Please consult with the IRS and your tax specialist to find out about the union dues tax deduction. Note: Union dues may only be deductible if you itemize on Schedule A, but not if you take the standard deduction. To find out if you qualify for a deduction, you need to calculate your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income), as well as all unreimbursed employee expenses (see link). Your union dues may be ...
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AA Policy: Former Administrators Keep Their Salary When They Go Back to Faculty Roles
Former administrators retain the rate of pay they received as administrators even after they have returned to their non-administrator faculty roles. Typically, former administrators keep all or a portion of the stipend they received for their administrator role (depending on length of service) and the only adjustment to their former administrative salaries is that they are adjusted to 9 months rather than 12. This results in former administrators being paid significantly more than their departmental same-rank peers. In addition, former administrators are usually awarded a one-semester sabbatical at full administrator pay before returning to their faculty roles. According to the ...
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UFF Strongly Encourages all Departments to Develop Guidelines
The current UNF-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement, covering academic years 2014-2015 through 2016-2017 refers to the existence of a within-discipline standard for the purposes of promotion and tenure at UNF. UFF encourages all departments to develop discipline-specific guidelines or merely state what other standards are to be used within their academic unit. For example, departments that do not chose to develop their own set of guidelines are encouraged to refer to those published by leading professional organizations in their field. Not having any discipline-specific guidelines leaves promotion and tenure decisions entirely at the discretion of administration, without feedback from departmental faculty ...
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Processes for Establishing Guidelines for Evaluation and Promotion
Article 9.7 of the CBA states that each department may adopt guidelines for evaluation and promotion. The faculty and chair may prepare draft guidelines and distribute them to all faculty for review and comment, and ultimately a vote. Deans are allowed 30 days to ensure the guidelines “comply with the [CBA] and the mission and goals of the University”, then approve them or return to the department for revision. Provided the department responds to the Dean’s comments within 60 days, the Dean does not have the power to modify the guidelines. Once the faculty, chair and ...
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Political Activity Do’s and Don’ts for Faculty
We each have the Constitutional right to the freedom of speech and free association, although when exercised in the course of public sector employment, the courts have placed restrictions on our First Amendment free speech rights. As public employees, we have additional Constitutional protections in the workplace that those in the private sector may not enjoy. In-unit faculty are also protected by the provisions in our Collective Bargaining Agreement in regards to our Constitutional rights and the right to due process for disciplinary action (see Articles 27 and 30). Nevertheless, as an employee of a public university in the state ...
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ALEC-Modeled Anti-Union Bill Introduced in Florida House State House Representative Scott Plakon (R-Seminole) just filed House Bill 11, an anti-public employee union bill that was originally created and promulgated by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and that was introduced in other states. Were the bill to become law, it would effectively decertify public employee unions with membership rates below 50%. The bill would require yearly registration of bargaining units, to include salary and other financial information on its members. The legislation specifically but inexplicably exempts law enforcement and firefighters unions. It is time to fight back against yet ...
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Florida Times-Union Article about New BOT Appointment
UNF faculty union president objects to governor’s trustee appointment Posted January 11, 2017 05:19 pm By Amanda Williamson amanda.williamson@jacksonville.com Governor Rick Scott appointed his former chief of staff to University of North Florida’s Board of Trustees at the end of December, but members of the school’s faculty union question that decision. Adam Hollingsworth, 48, left the governor’s office shortly after Scott’s re-election in 2014 — approximately a year after the Miami Herald-Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau exposed him for lying about earning a public relations degree from the University of Alabama in 1990. Aside from ...
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Bargaining to begin January 27th
UFF will present proposals for a much-needed family leave policy, including leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or when the employee is a primary caregiver of a family member with a serious medical condition. We will also present a proposal for salary increases that addresses inflation, merit, and compression and inversion. Bargaining sessions are open to the public; we encourage all faculty members who have an interest in these issues to attend the session. Friday January 27th at 1pm in the Professional Development and Training Conference Room (1/1306) ...
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