Chapter Council – February

The Chapter Council shall meet at least twice per semester, or whenever called by the President or by a majority of the council, to establish the bargaining agenda, coordinate membership meetings, promote the welfare of the Chapter, advise the Treasurer on the chapter budget, and exercise its powers of advice and consent. February 20, 2023 from 10am to 12pm via zoom. Contact the webmaster for the link. The ultimate authority in the Chapter rests with… Continue reading

Executive Council Meeting

The Executive Committee shall meet at least once per month, or whenever called by the President or by a majority of the committee, to carry out the regular business of the chapter. The voting membership of the Executive Committee shall include the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, the chairpersons of the standing committees, and the immediate past chapter President. February 6, 2023 from 10am to 12pm via zoom. Contact the webmaster for the link. The… Continue reading

Chapter Council Meeting

The Chapter Council shall meet at least twice per semester, or whenever called by the President or by a majority of the council, to establish the bargaining agenda, coordinate membership meetings, promote the welfare of the Chapter, advise the Treasurer on the chapter budget, and exercise its powers of advice and consent. January 20, 2023 from 10am to 12pm via zoom. Contact the webmaster for the link. The ultimate authority in the Chapter rests with… Continue reading

COVID Precautions for Spring 2022

Dear Colleagues, As we return to campus for another semester, we are once again faced with the challenges of the ongoing pandemic. This morning, Andrew Gothard (President, United Faculty of Florida), issued a letter to the Board of Governors calling on them to allow for greater local authority for universities and campuses across Florida to take the precautions they believe will best protect their communities (e.g., allowing classes to begin the semester remotely). As the… Continue reading

Concerns Over COVID Policies and Procedures

Dear Colleagues, In light of the recent surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and the ongoing public health crisis, we are writing to update you with the information we have at this time. As of December 31st, we know that the emergence of the omicron variant presents new challenges to our university community. Preliminary data suggests the variant is more likely to infect both vaccinated individuals and those who have previously recovered from another strain of… Continue reading

In Memory of Chuck Elkins: FIU founding faculty and UFF activist

Chuck Elkins was a longtime member of the Department of English at FIU. He was one of the founders of the UFF chapter at FIU and for many years was a union activist and leader, in addition to being a scholar, teacher, and serving also as a Vice Provost (at what was then known as the North Miami campus).   I got to know Chuck when I came to FIU, initially through the Friday afternoon… Continue reading

An Open Letter to the FIU Community Regarding the Covid-19 Response

Dear Colleagues, We are writing to communicate the understandable frustration of our faculty at Florida International University for the lack of a coherent response from the FIU administration regarding the rise of the Delta variant and hospitalizations across Miami-Dade County and throughout the state of Florida. Despite numerous overtures from UFF-FIU, the FIU administration has chosen  to not openly consult the faculty union about a safe return to campus for our entire community. Given the… Continue reading

End-of-semester Newsletter from the President

Dear Colleagues, I am afraid this email may be a little lengthy, as it has been a while, and a million things have changed, and it’s the end of the semester and more things are changing, and I’m not exactly sure how many actual functioning brain cells are left in my head. I do want to say Congratulations on making it through day 389 of March 2020! It has been a long semester, a long year, and I know… Continue reading

Highlights from the Spring Chapter Meeting

Thank you for everyone who attended our Spring Chapter Meeting via Zoom and made their voice heard as members of the union! If you could not attend, you can find the meeting minutes here. Highlights: Legislative Affairs (Chair, Jim Burns) The 2021 Florida Legislative Session is well underway and anti-union bills are moving through committees and to the floor at a fast pace. We need all of the membership active in contacting their state Senators and… Continue reading