Previous News Stories Archive - 2006-2007

Bargaining Nears End

  Talks Focus on Economics: The past two weeks have seen extensive progress at the table. Tentative agreement has been reached on all but economic issues including revision of Article 6.16 - Tenure, and Article 9 - Faculty Evaluation and Development. Specifically, a tentative agreement has been reached on changes that clarify and streamline the tenure process. Tentative agreement was also reached on changes to faculty evaluation and development greatly streamlining the goal setting, self-assessment, and evaluation processes. Detailed summary of the tentative agreements can be found on the Downloads page.

Only pay issues remain to be settled. The College has offered a three-year contract with salary to be re-negotiated the second and third years and the issue of free faculty parking to be reopened in year two. The proposal for the first year includes a 1.5% increase in minimum salaries, a 3% increase in maximum salaries, and approximately a 3% increase in base salaries. They have indicated they are willing to commit to a minimum increase in year two of 3% and no minimum increase in year three.

No bargaining sessions are presently scheduled.

Unpopular Ideas Surface At Bargaining

  Administration Proposals Take Negative Turn: The positive tone present at all the previous bargaining sessions subsided considerably July 19 when the Administration proposed several unpopular ideas with added costs for faculty members. What started as a non-controversial session clearing up several outstanding minor issues turned after the first couple of hours with five proposals seen by the FUSA team as hurting the majority of faculty.

First, the Admin team wanted to remove the "tenured" from the "tenured full-time faculty" priority over adjunct faculty for the first 60 hours of overload (Article 8.4) thus giving non-tenured faculty members the same preference as tenured faculty members. While FUSA agrees that full-time faculty should have priority over adjuncts in overload assignments, the FUSA team expressed their believe that tenured faculty should have some priority over non-tenured faculty based upon their years of satisfactory evaluations and success in achieving tenure.

Next, the Admin team declined to work with FUSA to include in the contract statements of purpose or mission for the various committees that are already included in the contract. Current language does not address the purpose, membership, term of service, or other specifics of established standing committees making it difficult to judge their effectiveness and possibly limiting volunteers to serve.

Citing the possibility that parking studies currently underway might recommend a parking fee, the Admin team then proposed taking away free parking for faculty. Unfortunately, they could not identify what benefits or improvements might be provided in return for paid parking.

Librarians and Counselors were next on the list with a proposal from the Admin team to reduce their summer adjunct pay from "daily rate of pay" to $20 per hour. And, they offered nothing in response to earlier requests from FUSA to reduce their 44 hour weekly workload.

Finally, they proposed limiting line-of-duty injury/illness leave from a maximum of 12 paid days per year to only 45 hours per year.

Sessions are scheduled for Thursday, July 19, from 9:00am until 1:00pm, and Thursday, July 26, from 9:00am until 1:00pm. Both sessions are scheduled for the Dale Mabry Campus in DTEC-409. Sessions are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine law. As usual, FUSA will be forwarding official notices to all faculty as they are sent from District. All faculty are invited to attend.

More Agreements Reached At Bargaining Table

  Administration Retreats on Some Changes: The bargaining session June 18, resulted in another tentative agreement between both sides at the table. The administration proposed changing language in Article 8.1.G from“two full years” to “four full years” as the maximum amount of time a tenured faculty member can be temporarily assigned to an administration position without losing tenure.

Both sides also discussed ways in which student evaluations can be done in distance learning classes and ways in which faculty goals and assessments can be better used in the strategic planning process of the college.

Both sides came to the table again on June 22, and agreed to delete Article 6.18.C. dealing with the selection of new faculty via a recruiting team concept. This was an idea to improve minority recruiting that was never implemented. A tentative agreement was reached on Article 6.18, Selection of new faculty dealing with screening committees.

Agreement was also reached on a request by FUSA to improve retired faculty rights under Article 6.23 by changing "may have privileges" to "shall have privileges" and including "checkout library materials". The administration requested additional time to respond to FUSA's request to also include continuation of e-mail privileges for a period such as 6-12 months after retirement. This would allow past students and others to continue to contact faculty members for a period of time after retirement for reasons such as recommendations for employment, colleges, etc.

Unfortunately, after continuing previous discussions about faculty development, tenure, goals and assessment (Articles 6.16 and 9) the administration indicated that they don't believe we can design and implement alternatives in time so they would just as soon leave these articles as they are.

Sessions are scheduled for Thursday, July 19, from 9:00am until 1:00pm, and Thursday, July 26, from 9:00am until 1:00pm. Both sessions are scheduled for the Dale Mabry Campus in DTEC-409. Sessions are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine law. As usual, FUSA will be forwarding official notices to all faculty as they are sent from District. All faculty are invited to attend.

Bargaining Continues, More Agreements Reached

  Additional Agreements Reached in Recent Sessions: Another morning bargaining session May 25 resulted in additional agreements between both sides at the table. Independent study was defined, FUSA access to e-mail was clarified, 6.18.C.1-8 dealing with off-site recruitment of faculty was deleted as it has never been used by the administration. Economic proposals as addressed in Articles 14.2, 14.4, 14.5, 14.6, 14.7, 6.20, 5.2, and 13.2 were also discussed.

Two more sessions were scheduled for mid-June primarily for discussion of FUSA's economic proposals. Monday afternoon, June 18, from 1:00pm until 4:00pm, and Friday morning, June 22, from 9:00am until 12:00 noon. Both sessions are scheduled for the Dale Mabry Campus in DTEC-409. Sessions are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine law. As usual, FUSA will be forwarding official notices to all faculty as they are sent from District. All faculty are invited to attend.

Ed Mitchell Assumes Leadership of UFF

  Mitchell Promoted to UFF Executive Director: Ed Mitchell, former President and Chief Negotiator of FUSA, is now Executive Director of the United Faculty of Florida. Ed left HCC this Spring Term to take the new position of Service Unit Director with the United Faculty of Florida (UFF), statewide higher education local of the Florida Education Association (FEA) and parent of the Faculty United Service Association (FUSA).

In the previous position, Ed was responsible for organizing and assisting with bargaining, grievances, and other duties for the eight chapters of UFF at colleges and univerisities throughout central Florida. In his new position, he assumes the title of Manager of Higher Education of the Florida Education Association and responsibility for the day-to-day operation of higher education unionism throughout the entire state. We will continue to see him here on campus though, as he assists us with our own bargaining until his field replacement is selected.

More Tentative Agreements Reached

  Additional Agreements Reached: More agreements were reached between both sides at the table April 30. These include clarifying language, removing outdated references and statements, and updating some sections to deal with improved technology and/or government guidelines.

Tentative agreement was reached on sections dealing with vacancies/transfers, military leave, and office hours by appointment. Although discusssed at length, still awaiting further administrative review are Article 6.16 - Tenure and Article 9 - Faculty Evaluation and Development.

These, and economic issues, will be on the table at the next session, Friday, May 25, 2007, 9:00am to . Sessions are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine law. FUSA is forwarding official notices to all faculty as they are sent from District. All faculty are invited to attend.

Negotiations Provide Tentative Agreements

  Some Tentative Agreements Reached: Much of what has transpired to-date involves both sides clarifying language, correcting typos, changing position names, and removing outdated references and statements.

Tentative agreement was reached on a total of nine sections. Several others presented by each side require further review and/or clarifications. Article 6.16 - Tenure and Article 9 - Faculty Evaluation and Development are still being reviewed.

Future bargaining locations, times, and highlights are available on the Bargaining page. Sessions are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine law. FUSA is forwarding official notices to all faculty as they are sent from district. All faculty are invited to attend.

Governor Crist Replaces HCC Board Members

  Two Members Not Re-Appointed: On Wednesday, April 11, 2007, Florida Governor Charlie Crist appointed Andrew Graham of Tampa and Rodrigo “Rod” Jurado of Temple Terrace to the District Board of Trustees of Hillsborough Community College, to replace Chappella Hill and Dr. Ed Gonzalez, respectively. Both appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Rod Jurado is a management consultant who attended HCC as a student prior to graduating from USF with bachelor degrees in philosophy and exercise physiology. He also has a master's degree in leisure behavior from the University of Illinois and a bachelor’s degree in theology from Florida Bible College. Andrew Graham, 49, is an attorney for Trinsic Communications.

Both Hill and Gonzalez were re-appointed by Governor Bush prior to his leaving office. Since they had not been confirmed yet by the Senate, Governor Crist recalled them along with most other unconfirmed board appointments across the state, until he could review them and determine if they were appropriate. In these two instances, Governor Crist made different appointments.

Their terms begin immediately, April 11, 2007 and end May 31, 2010.

Negotiations Continue

  Negotiations Continue: After three bargaining sessions to-date, most non-economic issues have been presented as have detailed rewrites of Article 6.16 Tenure, and Article 9 Faculty Evaluation and Tenure. The FUSA team is committed to streamlining some of the processes involved and clarifying the often confusing language.

Future bargaining locations, times, and highlights are available on the Bargaining page. Sessions are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine law. FUSA is forwarding official notices to all faculty as they are sent from district. All faculty are invited to attend.

Negotiations Start

  Negotiations Began March 2: FUSA's bargaining team, headed by Chief Negotiator Michael Moats, came to the table March 2 to begin contract talks with HCC. The FUSA team includes the FUSA Council for the present year and several new members elected to begin August 1.

The HCC team, headed by attorney Mark Levitt, also includes Sue Flaig, Craig Johnson, and Carlos Soto. Staff assistance is provided by Karen Griffin and Donna Miller.

Future bargaining sessions are scheduled for March 28, 2007, April 2, and April 9. Exact locations, times, and highlights are availablle on the Bargaining page. Sessions are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine law. All faculty are invited to attend.

FUSA Officers Named

  Nominations Completed: With nominations complete, there was one candidate nominated for each officer, FUSA Council, UFF Senate, and FEA Delegate position available. This is the first time in many years that there was actually a nominee for every available position.

Since there was not more than one candidate for each position, the existing FUSA Council voted to accept the results of the nominations and save the expense of an election that could only confirm the nominees.

The FUSA Council, UFF Senate, and FEA Delegate Assembly are elected annually and assume their duties as of March 1. Detailed information is available in the FUSA Bylaws and in the UFF Constitution and Bylaws.

Chief Negotiator Selected

  FUSA Council Selects Negotiator: At the regular January meeeting of the FUSA Council, Michael Moats was unanimously selected as Chief Negotiator. While the entire FUSA Council serves as the bargaining team, the Chief Negotiator directs the process, and speaks for the team at the negotiation table.

Since the FUSA Bylaws prevent the President from serving as the Chief Negotiator, Michael Moats stepped down from his position as President in order to serve. Since elections were already scheduled for the next two-year term, the Council appointed Vice President Peter Germroth as Interim-President to finish out the current term which ends July 31, 2007. Maribeth Mobley will serve as Vice President during that time.

Elections in Progress

  Elections in Progress: With FUSA elections scheduled for mid-February and UFF elections in late-February through late-March, it is important that members be on the lookout for e-mail notices of nominations and elections.

FUSA elections are held the second-week of February with the President, Vce-President and Council Members taking office August 1. The President and Vice President are elected for two-year terms, every odd-numbered year, also to take office August 1.

The UFF Senators and FEA Delegates are elected annually and assume their duties as of March 1. Detailed information is available in the FUSA Bylaws and in the UFF Constitution and Bylaws.

UFF Officers are elected for two-year terms. Tom Auxter (of the University of Florida), incumbent, and Roy Weatherford (of the University of South Florida) are running for President. Our own Michael Moats is running for First Vice President. The incumbent, Ed Mitchell, has had to step-down upon taking a staff position with UFF. FUSA has invited both candidates for president to speak to the FUSA Council at the next regular meeting, February 23, at 9:30am. All interested FUSA members are invited to sit-in on the meeting. The location will be announced soon.

FUSA Tops State in Membership

  FUSA Membership Percentage Tops in the State: Through the ongoing efforts of your FUSA leadership, FUSA, the HCC chapter of the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) has the highest percentage membership of any college or university in the state of Florida. According to the January 15, annual membership which determines representation in the UFF Senate and the FEA Delegate Assembly, FUSA has about 91% membership at 219 members. This is an extraordinary feat - especially considering that Broward CC and Edison CC chapters are tied for second place community college at 61% with 239 and 57 members respectively. The highest percentage enjoyed by a state university is 66% at NCFU with 50 members.

The percentage of membership is of great importance - far more than the actual numbers - since it tends to be a direct reflection of the degree to which the chapter actually speaks for the bargaining unit.

Bargaining Input Needed

  Bargaining Stars Soon, Faculty Input Needed: With negotiations just around the corner, FUSA Council members on each campus are seeking input from faculty members. Council members are holding open forums, meeting individually, and accepting e-mails from any and all faculty members interested in making their wishes known. Please check your e-mail for frequent updates. Also, Council members may be contacted by e-mail. An online PDF file contains a current list of FUSA Council members.

Ed Mitchell Resigns

  Ed Mitchell Leaves HCC To Take UFF Staff Position: Ed Mitchell has left HCC effective the first of this Spring Term. He has taken a new position with the United Faculty of Florida (UFF), statewide higher education local of the Florida Education Association (FEA) and parent of the Faculty United Service Association (FUSA).

In his new position, Ed will be responsible for organizing and assisting with bargaining, grievances, and other duties for the eight chapters of UFF at colleges and univerisities throughout central Florida. In this capacity, we will continue to see him here as he meets to assist us with our own bargaining.

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