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 Reps to tell them to focus on fixing real problems! Both UFF and FEA have excellent websites with information on the bills we are tracking and tools for contacting legislators.

Bargaining (Chair, Charles Shields)

  • Previous Chair, Dan Saunders, is moving to a Department Chair position. Charles has taken over as Chief Negotiator for UFF.
  • After the success of our MOUs the last few semesters, we were told by the Administration bargaining team that the Board of Trustees will not agree to an updated MOU for Summer/Fall.
  • We are currently still bargaining “big book” (i.e. the entire CBA is open for negotiation), and our team is focused on improving the bereavement leave policy, strengthening academic freedom language, and increasing equity in pay.
  • We are also working with the Administration to get the CBA in line with new statutes regarding Conflict of Interest and IP.
  • Dates/times for bargaining sessions are posted on our website calendar and are public, so please contact bargaining@uff-fiu.org if you wish to attend.

Grievance (Chair, Eric Dwyer)

  • Keep an eye out for important dates over the summer regarding evaluations and next year’s assignments (due July 1). You have up to 30 days after receiving your assignment to grieve (up to July 25th).
  • Reminder that for all grievances, it is important to have documented evidence (e.g. emails) in order to move forward.

Membership (Chair, Heather Blatt)

  • Membership is currently around 46% of the total bargaining unit, below the 50% threshold that the union-busting bills target.
  • The Membership Committee is working to establish Department Liaisons to connect departments across campus with union members and encourage membership. Please contact membership@uff-fiu.org if you are interested in becoming a liaison!

Chapter Elections

  • The 2021-22 leadership team ballot was elected by unanimous voice affirmation; congrats to the newly elected Officers and Senators!
  • Thank you to our outgoing leaders for the work and service to the union this past year!
  • We still have vacancies for Chapter Secretary (an Executive Committee position) and UFF Senators. Please contact us if you are interested in getting more involved.
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