Academy for Academic Personnel Administration
Fall 2003
Round Table Report
1. Institution Information
Name of Institution/System: University of North Florida
Name of Individual Responding: Joann Campbell
Title of Individual Responding: Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs
2. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition
Size: 428
Composition: All employees in the following position classifications holding regular, visiting, provisional, research, affiliate, or joint appointments. Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, Lecturer, Graduate Research Professor, Distinguished Service Professor, Eminent Scholar, University Librarian, Associate University Librarian, Assistant University Librarian, Instructor Librarian, Coordinator, Program Director, Curator, Research Associate and Counselor/Advisor. Additionally, employees in the above classification wit the following administrative titles: Coordinator, Program Director, Associate Program Director, Assistant Program Director, Department Head and Counselor/Advisor.
Bargaining Agent: United Faculty of Florida (UFF), an NEA affiliate
Date of First Contract: Negotiations for first agreement to get underway soon
Number of Succeeding Contracts: 0
3. Activity Report (e.g., status of current agreement or negotiations, details of last contract settlement, etc.):
On January 7, 2003, the UNF Board of Trustees gained status as the public employer for purposes of collective bargaining. Subsequently, the Trustees agreed to recognize the former bargaining agent for UNF faculty, the United Faculty of Florida, as the exclusive bargaining agent for UNF faculty members with the understanding that the bargaining unit would be reconfigured and that bargaining be initiated on a new collective bargaining agreement (in other words, that the former agreement between the UFF and Florida Board of Education not be maintained as status quo). Plans are underway to begin negotiations in late September or early October.
4. Special or noteworthy happenings (e.g., relevant arbitration or court decisions, organizing campaigns, labor agency decisions, etc.)
In November, 2002, the voters in Florida passed a constitutional amendment (Amendment 11) to re-establish a Board of Governors for the state university system (prior Board of Regents had been abolished by Governor). The support employees union (AFSCME) has litigation pending in the Florida 1st District Court of Appeals arguing that this voter initiative re-established the Board of Governors as the system employer rather than the individual universities. The decision on this issue may impact the current status of the university boards as individual employers.
To date, the BOG has been slow in gearing up but is expected to engage itself in substantive matters prior to the upcoming legislative session. An interesting note: the Chairperson of the BOG, who as appointed by the Governor (as were all current BOG members) was the former Chair of an organization established to defeat Amendment 11.
5. Special happenings related to fiscal issues (e.g., salary reductions, health and dental insurance costs, reductions in force, early retirement programs, program consolidation or elimination, etc.):