Freedom To Teach – Freedom To Learn

Freedom of speech and inquiry, as well as freedom from censorship and intimidation, are essential for the success of all educational environments. With its vague language and abstract prohibitions on what (or how) faculty can teach topics related to race and gender, HB 7 is designed to create a “chilling effect” by silencing discussion of topics that make people in power uncomfortable. The HB-7 Taskforce is hosting a series of meetings where we’ll offer a… 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

Legislative Alert: SB 264 – Academic Freedom

What is SB 264: Higher Education? SB 264 would require Florida’s public colleges and universities to administer an “intellectual diversity” survey every year with results to be published by the State Board of Education. It also has a “companion bill” in the House, HB 233. Why are FEA and UFF opposed to SB 264? For the third straight year, the text of this bill has been introduced. SB 264 is another bill in search of a… Continue reading

Spring MOU Ratification notice (Update with results)

UFF-FIU is holding an online ratification vote on the Spring MOU from Monday, November 9th to Wednesday, November 11th. When voting opens, detailed instructions and an access link will be sent to faculty’s FIU email via Election Buddy, a secure third-party election service. All in-unit faculty, regardless of UFF-FIU membership, are eligible to vote YES or NO to ratify the MOU. If you have any questions regarding the MOU or bargaining process, please feel free to reach out… Continue reading

MOU Reminders: Pausing your tenure clock & vulnerability attestation

Pre-tenure faculty, we want to remind you that according to our ratified MOU, if you are in need of a pause in your tenure clock as a result of COVID-19, the deadline is October 16th. You will not be denied the pause in your tenure clock as a result of COVID-19. This October 16th deadline is to have the initial conversation with your Chair. A tenure pause is an acknowledgement by the University that COVID-19… Continue reading

MOU on Spring Faculty Work

We are happy to announce that we have a signed MOU for the Spring 2021 semester. One major change from the previous MOUs is a change in language from a “self-identified COVID-19 related health concern” to a self-identified COVID-19 health vulnerability.” This was changed to be consistent with language used in the BOT-approved campus repopulation plan. We are confident that faculty will maintain the same level of protection that we all shared under the previous… Continue reading

MOU Ratification Notice (UPDATE with results)

  9/3/20 UPDATE: Faculty have voted to ratify the MOU with an official tally of 286 YES to 1 NO UFF-FIU is holding an online ratification vote on the MOU from Tuesday, September 1st to Thursday, September 3rd. When voting opens, detailed instructions and an access link will be sent to faculty’s FIU email via Election Buddy, a secure third-party election service. All in-unit faculty, regardless of UFF-FIU membership, are eligible to vote YES or NO to ratify the MOU.… Continue reading

MOU on Fall Faculty Work

We are very pleased to share our newly signed Memorandum of Understanding with the FIU administration concerning Fall faculty work. Moving forward, we are going to schedule a ratification vote for shortly after 9-month faculty are back on contracts and will be sending more information about that process in the coming weeks. We will also be scheduling a Q&A meeting about the agreement in the upcoming weeks. Click here to view the MOU in PDF form A… Continue reading

Important Dates for Evaluations & Assignments

From UFF-FIU Grievance Chair Eric Dwyer Assignments and evaluations: Be vigilant, even though it’s summer! While a good number of faculty do not have summer assignments, you still have summer obligations, namely to your annual evaluation and to your next assignment. Evaluation For those of you on 9-month contracts, your evaluation is due no later than June 25. According to the CBA, page 63, you have an opportunity to respond to the evaluation within 30… Continue reading