Faculty United Service Association

You may recall a recent FUSA post before the winter break concerning the Florida Board of Governor’s (BOG) decision to drop Principles of Sociology as a general education core requirement. The manner in which this decision was approved was duplicitous at best, happening via amendment at the last second and without due deliberation or basis in research. Further, it was not recommended by the statewide faculty committee reviewing general education core programs.

If ultimately approved, this decision would prove devastating to the discipline and would have far-reaching effects on other disciplines as well as a long-lasting impact on higher education in Florida.

Take action

The good news is there is still time to stand with faculty and students in Florida and to speak up for Sociology as a general education core requirement. The next BOG meeting is Jan 24th. Please contact the Board of Governors now and tell them to Keep Sociology as a core GenEd requirement in Florida!

Faculty around the state (including here at HCC) developed talking points to help you craft a statement of support. Feel free to use them. At a minimum we need all faculty and friends of higher education in Florida to tell the BOG how shortsighted and detrimental this decision would be.

Please contact the Board of Governors now and pass this on for others to make a stand for Sociology. If they don’t hear from us now, what will they come for next?

Protect Sociology

Regulation 8.005 – “General Education Core Course Options”

The Florida Board of Governors (BOG) passed Regulation 8.005 – General Education Core Course Options which removes SYG X000 Principles of Sociology as a general education core course option for students. UFF and FUSA are deeply concerned that removing this sociology course from the core course options available to students will significantly reduce enrollment in this subject area, which could lead to layoffs for faculty and fewer learning opportunities for students. Read more below and take action.

• Tampa Bay Times coverage
• Inside Higher Ed coverage
• Statement from the American Sociological Association

Take action

• Leave your public comment about this regulation on the Proposed Regulations page of the Florida BOG website. The comment window closes on 11/23, so make your voice heard now!
  • Here are some talking points to consider as you formulate your response.
  • Scroll down to “Chapter 8,” and select the “Submit a Comment” option on the right-hand side of the page. Doing so will launch a pop-up window where you can type your comment directly or copy-and-paste from a separate document.
• Use this link to register for UFF’s Sociology Working Group, which will bring together UFF leaders and members from across the state to coordinate actions that will protect and preserve the role of sociology for all of Florida’s higher education community. Faculty and supporters from every field are encouraged to attend! Nov. 30, at 3:30 pm ET, so set your calendars and show up ready to organize!

Protect DEI

Regulation 9.016 – “Prohibited Expenditures”

The Florida BOG also passed Regulation 9.016 – Prohibited Expenditures. It bans funding in support of DEI programs and strips funding from student groups that participate in political or social activism and/or advocate for positions on social issues. UFF unequivocally opposes this regulation, as it will only contribute to the atmosphere of censorship and exclusion enacted by previous legislation aimed at Florida’s higher education campuses, such as SB 266.

Take Action

• Leave your public comment about this regulation on the Proposed Regulations page of the Florida BOG website. The comment window closes on 11/23, so make your voice heard now!
  • Members who want more details about UFF’s position on this regulation should review our talking points, produced in conjunction with the First Amendment Foundation.
  • Scroll down to “Chapter 9,” and select the “Submit a Comment” option on the right-hand side of the page. Doing so will launch a pop-up window where you can type your comment directly or copy-and-paste from a separate document.

FUSA met with the Administration on Monday, October 16 to negotiate a 2024-2025 wage reopener, as agreed to this past summer. On top of our recent bargaining victories,

Please see the FUSA Flash from FUSA President Sherry Sippel for more details. We will hold a ratification vote on the wage increase at Faculty Professional Development Day on Oct 24. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join FUSA as we negotiate better pay for faculty! You may recall as a part of our concluded negotiations this past summer, both parties agreed to meet in October for a “wage reopener” for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Negotiations are slated for Monday, Oct 16 from 1pm – 3pm at the Ybor Campus, YSSB 307/308

We made tremendous gains bringing our salaries up after years of stagnation (and economic inflation). Now we have to build on those gains and keep pace with dramatic increases in the cost of living. We welcome all faculty to attend if available. As FUSA President Sherry Sippel notes, “A good turnout and show of force and commitment works in our favor.”

To further support the need for strong unions (and why we must build on our collective power), read this fact sheet from the Economic Policy Institute: Unions help reduce disparities and strengthen our democracy.

Welcome back! The new academic year is upon us and we are entering it with a new contract! The 2022-2025 contract (yes, you read that right–negotiations took over a year) includes “the largest wage increase we have had in over 15 years.” For contract highlights, revisit our post from earlier this summer: Bargaining Breakthrough. Returning faculty should have received a Salary Memo notification via HCC email with their new step assignment and salary.

FUSA updates

• FUSA lunch at Inservice – as usual, FUSA is sponsoring lunch for the Fall Inservice. During lunch FUSA President Sherry Sippel will offer welcome back remarks along with other updates and helpful info to start the new year. We look forward to seeing you there!
• eDues News – Thank you to all our members who transitioned to eDues at the end of the term and over summer. It truly saved our union. Despite this new legislation (SB 256) outlawing payroll deduction, FEA and UFF chapters across the state have been moving members to the eDues system. FUSA has far surpassed the 60% membership threshold required by the new law as well. We only have a dozen or so members left to move over to the eDues system. We truly appreciate our members’ cooperation in the face of this unnecessary attack on unions, our right to organize, and our collective voice.
• SB 266 Guidance – UFF has provided guidance on SB 266, another bad bill passed during the legislative session which has broad implications for Higher Education. The document provides detailed legislative analysis as well as practical guidance for faculty on the frontlines: the classroom. Please read it and pass along any questions or comments.

It has been a long, hard road but we officially have a new contract. The Board of Trustees has just approved the FUSA contract which covers academic years 2022-2025. FUSA President Sherry Sippel will follow up with more detail via email, but a review of some contract highlights and the largest wage increase we have had in over 15 years can be found in the previous post: Bargaining Breakthrough!!

eDues update

Thank you to all the members who have completed the conversion to eDues. This has been a huge undertaking for FUSA, UFF, and FEA. While we at FUSA have surpassed the 60% threshold, it is our goal to get each and every member converted. Recall that July 1 marks the start of a new law passed by the state legislature which bans employer deduction of dues from paychecks. It is an attack on public sector unions and educators (and exempts first responder unions). It is vitally important to get every member moved over and in good standing to support our union. Each day that passes without full dues conversion will impact not just FUSA, but our state affiliates UFF & FEA as well.

If you haven’t converted to eDues, look to your work and personal email for messages from FUSA, and FUSA will continue to reach out to members to get everyone signed up as soon as possible.

FUSA has settled the impasse with administration while also finalizing the 2022-2025 contract! This was a colossal effort that required the persistent work of the FUSA bargaining team with input from the entire FUSA Council and support from FUSA membership. There couldn’t be a better illustration of solidarity! We simply wouldn’t have gotten it done without our strength in numbers. More detail will be forthcoming, but here are some highlights from what FUSA President Sherry Sipple notes as “the largest wage increase we have had in over 15 years”:

1. A 12.8% increase across the board to the faculty step pay system, to be implemented in full by August 2023-2024.
2. An initial pay adjustment of $1,570 to the 2022-2023 salary schedule, to be paid to eligible faculty in June 2023.
3. A 2023-2024 step increase for eligible full-time faculty. 
4. A second 2023-2024 step increase to replace the lost step from 2021-2022, for eligible faculty.
5. An increase in lab/simulation/workshop point values from 8 to 9 points per contact hour in 2023-2024; an increase to all lab/simulation/clinical/workshop point values to 10 points in 2024-2025.

eDues

The conversion to eDues in response to SB 256 being signed into law is continuing. If you haven’t signed up for eDues, don’t hesitate. If there was ever a good reason to support your union it is right now. While legislators are trying to silence our collective voice FUSA has come through for its members. Let’s show the legislature we aren’t going anywhere by getting all of members converted by July 1st.

See our eDues page for more information. FUSA will be reaching out to the remaining members who haven’t completed the transition. If you aren’t a member yet, it’s easy to JOIN NOW. Submit your online enrollment form today. For more reasons why joining FUSA is the smart move for faculty, see our Membership page.

May FUSA Council Meeting

The next Council meeting will be held Friday, May 26th at 9:00 am at the Ybor campus in YLRC 305. All Faculty are welcome to attend.

It’s “fourth and inches” and we need a strong faculty showing to help us push this over the goal line. FUSA has heard from Administration. They are ready to the return the table with a proposal for economics. Come join FUSA as we work to resolve the impasse and to complete the 2022-2025 contract in time for the May 24^th BOT meeting.

• Bargaining is set for Tuesday, May 16, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Ybor Campus, YLRC 305. 

All faculty are encouraged to attend to show a united front!  (and if you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at the HCC faculty salary study.)

eDues

The eDues transition is progressing. Over 150 FUSA members have converted to eDues but we have more work to do. Recall that the governor has signed in to law SB 256 which prohibits employer deduction of union dues. It also mandates a minimum 60% threshold for union membership (more on this in the Legislative update below).

In order to save our union and our contract we need every member to convert to eDues. And we need to grow our membership. If you haven’t signed up you should have received a follow-up message in your work email. If you are looking to become a member, use the New Member Enrollment portal. See the following for more information:

• eDues Information
• Membership

Legislative Update

Mercifully, the 2023 Legislative session has concluded and it was not kind to educators in Florida. That said, the advocacy of UFF and FEA and members like you, managed to blunt some of the truly horrific provisions of some of these unnecessary and punitive bills targeting higher education and unions. Here are some updates and information from our parent chapters:

• SB 256 — FEA announced in a press conference last week they have filed a lawsuit against this unconstitutional law
• SB 266 (or HB 999) — Will cause irreversible harm to Florida’s higher education system
• UFF loses challenge to HB 233 “Viewpoint Discrimination” law after two year legal battle

Once again, Administration has proven nonpareil in the pursuit of kicking the can down the road. They refuse to bring meaningful proposals to the bargaining table. In fact, Administration again brought no economics proposal to address the impasse. FUSA came prepared to bargain, with a proposal based on the salary study Dr. Atwater asked for and long-stalled bargaining over. They gave no formal response to the proposal other than they had “wait until the Governor signs the budget.”

Return of Nothing Burger

You may recall the last bargaining session, called by Administration before impasse, resulted in them offering a Nothing Burger proposal. Well some months, an overwhelming vote of No Confidence, an impasse ruling, and a board directive later, Admin has outdone themselves. Despite repeated assurances that he would abide by an independent salary study and the strong desire of the board to resolve the issues of the impasse in a timely fashion, Dr. Atwater sent his team in, this time offering a Nothing Burger Royale (hold the cheese), with even more nothing for your paychecks.

FUSA remains committed to finding a resolution to the impasse that can be taken to the May 24 Board of Trustees meeting. FUSA again requests a strong faculty showing at the meeting. For more details on the bargaining session, please see the FUSA FLASH email (5-3-23) from FUSA President Sherry Sippel.

eDues News

As you have likely heard, the eDues transition is well underway. FUSA members are signing up for the safe & secure eDues system. Once signed up, dues deduction in the new system will begin after July 1.

Recall that the legislature passed a bill that limits public sector employers from deducting dues from payroll. This is a union-busting tactic aimed at making it harder to pay your dues. Also in the bill is a new 60% membership threshold to ensure union certification with the state, a punitive act by the legislature and Governor and why we need all members to covert to eDues to save our union and our contract. For more information, see our eDues page and feel free to contact FUSA with any questions.

JOIN FUSA

If you aren’t a member there is no better time to Join FUSA. You can join now and get free dues until August! New members also receive a $100 bonus to help with the first year’s dues. Dues are 1% of your base salary (does not include overloads, etc.).

• Join FUSA now
• If you have a colleague that isn’t a member, tell them what is at stake and put them in contact with a FUSA rep.