We had a well attended FUSA meeting today (7/22). In addition to the FUSA council, we had 60+ rank and file members join us for a review of bargaining and next steps. There was a request to share the bargaining team’s “Rationale for Economics,” i.e. FUSA’s argument for administration.

In addition, due to admin’s response to FUSA’s economic rational–offering only a permanent loss of step–the council approved forming a committee to explore holding a vote of confidence.

If you have any questions, please contact your campus FUSA representative.

You are invited to an emergency FUSA Council meeting this Friday, July 22nd, 12 – 1pm, via Zoom. We will share the outcome of last Friday’s Bargaining Session. It is in your very best interest to attend.

Check your inboxes for a message from the FUSA President with the Zoom link sent Tues 7/19/22.

FUSA will meet with Administration for contract negotiations on Friday, July 15, 2022, 9:00AM – 4:00PM. The session will take place in the Ybor City Campus Performing Arts Building, YPAB rooms 312 & 313.

Please join us June 24 at 9am on the Ybor campus in YFAC 226 for the last FUSA meeting of the 2021-22 academic year. It will also be Elizabeth Key-Raimer’s final meeting as FUSA President.

Some key takeaways from the NEA Special Report on Professional Pay in Higher Education (with data from NEA HE 2022 Salary Report):

• Full-time faculty represented by unions earned about $5,000 more in 2021 than their peers who work in the same states but don’t belong to unions. The difference is even bigger—a whopping $17,000—between union members and faculty working in states without faculty unions.
  
• At community colleges specifically, union faculty members earned an additional $18,000 in 2021, or 27 percent more than non-union faculty in the same states. (Over a 25-year career, the difference amounts to an additional $450,000.) At research universities, the union difference was $6,000.
  
• Like all educators, professors worked harder than ever in 2021, as they pivoted their classes online and attempted to support students who were dealing with all of the traumas of the pandemic. Meanwhile, faculty’s “purchasing power,” a measure of salary corrected for inflation, fell 1.3 percent between 2020 and 2021. In other words, despite their increasing work, faculty members felt like they had less money, not more.

Are you tired of Zoom meetings?

Well you are in luck, FUSA is returning to in-person meetings! This month’s meeting will be held May 27 at 9:00 am, on Ybor City Campus, YBOR 204. All faculty are invited to attend. We hope to see you there!

Take note of the following upcoming FUSA events:

You are invited to attend the FUSA Faculty Graduation Reception from 7:30-9:30am prior to commencement on 5/6. Breakfast will be available and our retiring faculty will be recognized.

On 5/13, the third of four planned bargaining sessions will occur between 10am-2pm at the Ybor Student Services building – YSSB 307 & 309/310. Come support the bargaining team as they advocate for you at the bargaining table.

Please find below UFF President Andrew Gothard’s response the Gov. DeSantis’ press conference and signing of the SB 7044, the “Postsecondary Education” bill:

Florida’s Higher Education System Must Remain Free from Political Influence and Control

FUSA Council will hold the April monthly meeting, on Friday, April 22^nd, via Zoom at 9:00 a.m.  Guests are invited to attend. Please refer to the FUSA President’s email (sent on 4/18) for the Zoom link.

In addition, please see the results of the 2022-2024 FUSA Elections. Congratulations to all who were elected. We also encourage all who are FUSA members to be involved with your union. Contact your campus Council reps for more information. And if you aren’t a member, we’d love to have you! Join FUSA now.