Faculty United Service Association

Bargaining will take place Tues 5/2 at the Ybor campus, YLRC 314 at 1:30. A large faculty presence is encouraged (and wear a red shirt if you have one). We are meeting at the Board’s direction to resolve our impasse issues. FUSA is committed to fighting for fair faculty wages; we willl see if administration is serious about resolving the impasse.

eDues news you can use!

We are making progress on our eDues transition with nearly 100 members signed up for eDues. The next goal is to have reach 200 converted by graduation this Friday, May 5. Let’s show the politicians that our our union has the collective strength to withstand their union busting tactics. Let’s not let them silence our voice!

You should have recieved an email from FEA “centralmembershipsystem” in your personal email. If you can’t find this email, contact Jeremy Bullian or Kristin Heathcock, the eDues point persons, and they will help get you converted! Go to our eDues page for more information.

Join FUSA

If you aren’t a member there is no better time than now 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.

FUSA will be discussing the eDues transition at a Town Hall meeting this Thursday, 3:30pm. Please join us to find out the background behind the transition and just how fast, easy, and secure it is to switch over. We hope to see you there! Check your HCC email for an invite and link from FUSA president Sherry Sippel.

Action Alert

UFF President Andrew Gothard recently sent out a call to action on two companion bills (HB 999 / SB 266) that have great significance for higher education in Florida. While some of the extreme elements of the bills have been removed, to quote Gothard,

“Both bills will now come into alignment with deeply concerning language that still compels speech around the teaching of American history, bans funding for programs and groups (including student groups) that support critical race theory (CRT), mandates that the Board of Governors give instruction for the removal of CRT curriculum, limits the ability of accreditors to enforce rules around academic freedom and other issues, and mandates western-focused curriculum in general education courses. Of extreme concern is one new amendment that slipped into the bill language last week. SB 266 / HB 999 will ban grievance and arbitration proceedings for all faculty employment decisions, including termination, tenure and promotion, discipline, and more. This is a significant attack on our Florida constitutional right to collectively bargain, and it must be stopped in its tracks!“

While HB 999 was heard in committee today, there is still a chance to to take action on SB 266.

• With one click, tell all members of the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee to vote NO on SB 266: https://secure.ngpvan.com/Hf79mnMW30y35p85S-GEyw2
• Email Sen. Erin Grall, sponsor of SB 266, here by selecting the “Email this Senator” button on the left side of the page. You can also call (850) 487-5029.

Your voice is integral to the fight to stop the extreme agenda trying to remake and dismantle over a century of higher education integrity and rights. It is important to note that each bill has to pass a floor vote in their respective chamber to become law so we still have the opportunity to stop one or both bills. Stay tuned for updates about these bills and others affecting educators in Florida.

In Solidarity!

HB 999 & SB 266 – The evil twins

The legislative session has passed the halfway mark and legislators are back with HB 999 in the House and it’s companion bill in the Senate, SB 266. These bills are existential threats to higher education in Florida as we know it and would curb academic freedom, compell speech, gut tenure provisions, and place faculty hiring decisions into the hands of the Boards and administrators, just to name a few of awful items.

Included below is some information and resources recently sent out from UFF that allow you to make your voice heard. Take action against these awful bills!

• HB 999 is still stalled in the House due to our ongoing advocacy, but we are hearing reports that it may be in committee again as early as next week. Please take a few moments to use the link below to contact legislators and urge them to vote NO against this horrific attack on academic freedom, tenure, and the constitutional rights of students, faculty, and staff in Florida’s colleges and universities: Click here to oppose HB 999
  
• SB 266—the Senate companion to HB 999—is being heard in committee next week on Wednesday, 4/12 at 11:30 AM! Read how this bill will harm higher education and the Click here to oppose SB 266!

edues News

We’ve been providing periodic updates on the coming eDues transition. UFF is hard at work prepping for this monumental change. As you may recall, the Florida Legislature intends to outlaw public employer payroll deductions for union members by July 1, meaning you will no longer be able to pay your union dues through your paycheck. The bills also require 60% union membership or face decertification.

FUSA will be providing more information in addition to another Town Hall meeting (announcement forthcoming) to prep membership for this change. We will not let those pushing this bill in Tallahassee deter us from having a strong collective bargaining agreement and a powerful voice for higher education in Florida. We will control our own fate and do what we need to do to save our union, no matter what politicians throw at us!

In the meantime, visit our eDues page for more information, flyers, FAQs and a short video describing the eDues system.

Read coverage by Creative Loafing: Faculty union at Hillsborough Community College casts vote of ‘no confidence’ in college president

TAKE ACTION

Take action against HB 999 (and its companion bill SB 266) — the tenure eliminating, academic freedom infringing, horror show of a bill attacking higher education in Florida.

Don’t take our word for it, listen to what the American Historical Association has to say about it. Need a handy flyer pinpointing all of the awful features jammed into this bucket list attack on higher education? We’ve got one: Fact sheet on HB 999.

• Take Action against HB 999
• Take Action against SB 266
• Sign a petition organized by students opposing both

On March 22, FUSA members clad in their red shirts again descended on the monthly HCC Board of Trustees meeting to advocate for faculty. The persistent pressure we have kept on the Administration, Dr. Atwater, and the Board is starting to pay off.

Please see your work email for a FUSA Flash update in which FUSA President Sherry Sippel comments on the meeting. In short, after another strong showing of FUSA red shirts and statements to the Board, Chairperson Nancy Watkins addressed faculty concerns and the Vote of No Confidence by urging Dr. Atwater to convene a workshop aimed at finding a resolution before the end of the fiscal year.

There is more work to do but this is a clear sign of progress! FUSA will keep you up-to-date on any developments as they happen. Feel free to reach out to your campus reps or FUSA leadership with any questions. Below you will find all four compilations of Faculty BOT meeting statements:

• Faculty BOT Statements 3/22/23
• Faculty BOT Statements 2/22/23
• Faculty BOT Statements 10/6/22
• Faculty BOT Statements 8/24/22

edues is coming

If you haven’t heard about the switch to edues, please see our eDues campaign page dedicated to information about this critically important change to dues deduction for union members in Florida.

Get Involved & Fight for your UNion

• Tell House Committee members you oppose HB 999!
  • Fact sheet on HB 999 shared by Rep Eskamani’s office
• Consider donating to UFF PAC to help advocate for faculty in Florida

We hope you are enjoying your well-deserved break from the demands of classes and college business. Unfortunately, everything else keeps on rolling, including this unprecedented legislative session replete with attacks on higher education, K-12, and public sector unions. There are some dangerous bills moving through committees in Tallahassee that call for urgent action from members. This post will share some tools that will allow you to make your voices heard.

SB 256 — Urgent action needed

SB 256, the bill attacking our constitutional right to be union members is fast-tracked and is set to be heard in its last committee stop in the Fiscal Policy Committee at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, March 16. FEA has created an easy way to make contact legislators with the link below. 

• Contact Legislators on the Fiscal Policy committee to tell them to stop the attack on Educators’ freedoms!
• NOTE: there are talking points but it is always good to add your own edits to make it unique

HB 999 — a direct attack on academic freedom and Free speech

According to a recent WFSU Capital Report episode, the American Historical Association strongly condemns this bill. AHA Executive Director, James Grossman says “…it would prevent prevent professors from teaching American History with professional integrity.”

• Read the American Historical Association statement, cosigned by 72 other organizations
• The statement expresses “horror . . . at the assumptions that lie at the heart of this bill and its blatant and frontal attack on principles of academic freedom and shared governance central to higher education in the United States.”

Representative Anna V. Eskamani (FL House District 42), a staunch ally of FEA, UFF, and Higher Education, has released a number of helpful resources in the fight against this extreme bill, including a link to contact Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee members.

• Watch debate and public testimony on HB 999
• Contact subcommittee members and demand they vote NO on HB 999
• Watch a virtual event held on the HB 999
• Download the Fact sheet on HB 999 shared by Rep Eskamani’s office:

Confidence Vote

The results of the faculty Vote of Confidence in Dr. Atwater, HCC’s President, are in.  The tally is:

I have CONFIDENCE in Dr. Atwater as HCC President:  10 (5%)

I have NO CONFIDENCE in Dr. Atwater as HCC President:  209 (95%)

From FUSA President, Sherry Sippel: “On behalf of the FUSA Council, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the vote and made their voice heard.  It was a great turnout! Our next step will be to notify the Board of Trustees with the rationale for the vote and the results.  We will keep everyone posted of our next actions.”

Take action on HB 999!

If you haven’t seen a message from UFF President Andrew Gothard in your personal email, there is a call to action regarding HB 999, an ominous attack on Higher Education in Florida. More information can be found in the email but some action items are included here:

We need you to take action to stop this bill! As higher education professionals, we are the experts on how this bill will harm Florida’s students, economy, and communities. The legislature needs to hear from us immediately!

Here are 2 quick steps you can take right now to make sure that our voices are heard in the legislature:

1. Email the House Committee members using this convenient contact tool: http://www.feaweb.org/999
2. Let your local legislator know how you feel about this bill: https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/findyourrepresentative

Here is a Tampa Bay Times article discussing an earlier version of the bill: Florida Bill would end diversity programs, ban majors and shift power at universities

Faculty should have received separate FUSA Flash emails from FUSA President Sherry Sipple concerning, respectively, the Impasse Hearing held March 2 and an announcement regarding the upcoming confidence vote.

Impasse

Briefly, the Impasse Hearing was held March 2^nd. We appreciate all the faculty who came out to hear FUSA witnesses and our UFF advocate argue our case for a long overdue for raises to the step pay system and lab point equity. What our President failed to mention in her update was that she, too, testified expertly on your behalf. While we don’t have a specific timeline for the magistrate’s decision, we are hopeful it will come in by the end of Spring term, May 8.

Confidence Vote

The FUSA President followed up with an additional announcement regarding the confidence vote planned for March 8-10, using, as we have so before, the secure electronic voting platform, Helios. As discussed in the FUSA Town Hall meeting last week, we didn’t come to this decision lightly, rather only after protracted bargaining and faculty sentiments at the Town Hall, FUSA Council meetings, and Board of Trustees meetings revealed an overwhelming dissatisfaction with Dr. Atwater’s leadership. More information will follow by email and on this website.

More updates

Take action – the 3-7 CHallenge

March 7 is the start of Florida’s 2023 legislative session, and some elected officials have promised to pass legislation that will limit the fundamental freedoms of Florida’s students, teachers, education staff professionals, and higher education faculty.

In response, we are asking all Florida Education Association (FEA) and United Faculty of Florida (UFF) members to participate in a statewide public education day of action that we are calling the 3-7 Challenge to show support for educators and the future of education in our state. Take Action and Participate in the 3-7 Challenge:

• Make 3 phone calls and 7 emails to Florida’s elected officials
• 3-7 Challenge page includes details, prompts, and contact info

E-dues

Another topic discussed at the Town Hall meeting concerned the E-dues campaign prompted by legislation filed in the Florida Senate (SB 256). Simply put this is a union-busting bill and a blatant attack on educators and your right to organize and speak collectively. We need to be ready to act should this legislation become law. For more information, download the flyer below or visit our E-dues Campaign information page.

What we’ll cover:

• Impasse & Grievance Update
• Confidence Vote
• Legislative updates
• E-dues program

More updates

• February Council meeting summary
• FUSA Statement Supporting New College