December 16, 2009. We have now exchanged proposals with the Administration/BOT Bargaining Team on summer appointments and salary increases.  In a nutshell, the Administration is proposing that in-unit employees will be offered one summer course if available and budgetary considerations permit.  Additional courses can be offered to qualified faculty, adjuncts, graduate students, etc., with administrative discretion.  The compensation for the first two courses (if offered to in unit employees) remains at 12.5% of 9 month salary.  Additional courses will be compensated at the same rate in some colleges and at adjunct rate in other colleges.  If your summer course is canceled you will not be able to ‘bump’ out-of-unit employees to teach another course.

UFF-FAU has countered with a proposal that extends preference for up to two courses for in unit employees with a salary cap of $12,500 per course.  Our goal is to preserve the quality of the summer program by having in-unit faculty teach as many courses as possible while providing a reasonable income stream in the summer.

UFF-FAU proposed a salary increase of 4.5% (2.5% across the board, 1% merit, 1% market), but the administration has countered with a proposal with no salary increases offered for the 2009-2010 academic year beyond the promotion increases already awarded.  

Both parties have agreed to extend the deadline to negotiate over summer to January 15, 2010.

An article-by-article description of ongoing negotiations appears below.

In solidarity,

Sharmila Vishwasrao
for the  UFF-FAU Bargaining Team

See related post:

UFF-FAU Collective Bargaining Update November 11, 2009

BARGAINING REPORT BY ARTICLE

PREAMBLE  :  Unchanged, Tentatively agreed (TA)

ARTICLE 1:  BOT proposed no changes, UFF holding off until end of negotiations.

ARTICLE  2:  Unchanged ,  TA

ARTICLE  3: Unchanged, TA

ARTICLE  4:

ARTICLE 5:  BOT proposed defining misconduct as failure to uphold Academic Responsibility, UFF will not accept, proposed no change.

ARTICLE 6:  BOT proposed no changes, UFF proposed addition of ‘sexual orientation’ among non-discrimination items along with race, gender, etc.

ARTICLE 7:  No substantive changes, TA

ARTICLE 8

ARTICLE 9

ARTICLE 10:  At issue, who is responsible for annual evaluation, should UFF activities be part of annual evaluation, process of disputing annual evaluation.

ARTICLE 11:  No change, TA

ARTICLE 12

ARTICLE 13

ARTICLE 14

ARTICLE 15

ARTICLE 16

ARTICLE 17

ARTICLE 18:  Administration wants “Traditional Works of scholarship and Instructional works to be made available to, and maintained by the University for administrative, educational, research or other pedagogical purposes”.

ARTICLE 19:  BOT proposal is unchanged, UFF will propose changes.

ARTICLE 20

ARTICLE 21:  BOT proposes unchanged.

ARTICLE 22:  BOT proposes unchanged.

ARTICLE 23:  Salaries.  UFF proposed bargaining starting salaries, 2.5% ATB, 1% merit, 1% equity, no discretion, step increases for FAUS.

ARTICLE 24

ARTICLE 25:  Removed.  Remains blank as placeholder, TA

ARTICLE 26

ARTICLE 27:  BOT proposes removal of one phrase, “No employee, shall as a result of the establishment of a level of rights or benefits in this Agreement, suffer a loss or diminution of any such rights or benefits for which otherwise eligible.”  This is apparent hangover from blue book where different universities may have offered benefits which do not exist in FAU-BOT CBA.  Advise?

ARTICLE 28:  BOT proposes unchanged.

ARTICLE 29

ARTICLE 30:  Only dates changed, TA

ARTICLE 31

ARTICLE 32:  BOT proposes, “University” means the administration/management of the Florida Atlantic University, UFF will wait to see if more definition changes are warranted.

APPENDIX A:  BOT proposed unchanged, UFF proposed addition of Biomed faculty.
APPENDIX B:  BOT proposed unchanged, we will clean up some old language.
APPENDIX F:   Rescinded TA