Category: Legislative

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Freedom To Teach – Freedom To Learn

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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

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Take Action Against HB 1197

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In the final days of the session, the legislative assault on your union rights has been renewed. HB 1197, which is currently being fast-tracked through the Florida Senate, would prohibit you from having your union dues deducted via payroll deduction. The legislation requires union chapters with membership below 50% of those eligible to join to petition the Public Employees Relations Commission for recertification.   The Senate Rules Committee will be taking HB 1197 tomorrow, Tuesday… Continue reading

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End-of-semester Newsletter from the President

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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

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Highlights from the Spring Chapter Meeting

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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

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TAKE ACTION: SB 78

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Thousands of United Faculty of Florida members from across the state have already taken action to stop SB 78, but we need everyone to make their voices heard before Thursday morning’s Senate Rules committee meeting! How to take action: 1) Go to the FEA website 2) Enter your street address 3) Click on the email button 4) Compose an email using the talking points listed 5) Click “send email” to email all the members of… Continue reading

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Legislative Alert: SB 264 – Academic Freedom

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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

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Legislative Alert: SB 78/HB 947 – Union Busting Bills

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What is SB 78: Dues and Uniform Assessments? Currently, a faculty member who wants to join UFF submits a dues authorization form to UFF which is then sent to FIU HR for automatic processing. According to SB 78, once the employer (e.g. FIU HR) receives a signed dues authorization (i.e. membership form), the employer must “confirm with the employee, electronically or by other means, that he or she authorized the deduction of dues and uniform… Continue reading

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Legislative Alert: HB 123 – Guns on Campus

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Update: HB 6001 has been redesignated as HB 123 UFF-FIU Legislative Affairs Committee Legislative Alert On Monday, November 30, State Representative Anthony Sabatini (R) prefiled HB 123 for consideration by the State Legislature during the 2021 legislative session, which begins in March. HB 123 would remove an existing legal provision that prohibits concealed carry licensees from openly carrying a handgun or carrying a concealed weapon or firearm onto a college or university facility in the… Continue reading

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StopTheDeSanity Statewide Campaign

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#StopTheDeSanity As of October 9th, 213,000 American lives have been lost to Covid-19 and the numbers are projected to double by the end of the year. With no approved vaccine in sight, fully reopening campuses is irresponsible, dangerous, and puts our students, faculty, and communities at risk. While UFF-FIU has fought hard to protect faculty at our campuses with our MOUs, political pressure is pushing leadership at institutions throughout the state to force their faculty,… Continue reading