Several weeks ago I became aware of some actions by FAU administration that, in our opinion, could have consequences for the collective bargaining process at FAU. Below is a summary of the concerns I communicated to you at that time. I also communicated these concerns to President Kelly and his response is attached.<Letter from President Kelly> While we appreciate the President’s reaffirmation of his commitment to the collective bargaining process, we remain concerned. In preparation for our meeting with him, I would like you to send me your thoughts on this issue. Any and all comments will be kept strictly anonymous.
In the meantime, collective bargaining continues and we will be meeting with the representatives of the FAU Board of Trustees this Friday at
2:00 in the Provost’s Conference Room. You are encouraged to attend.
In Solidarity
Bob Zoeller
UFF-FAU Chapter President
Summary of the issue:
President Kelly recently selected and engaged with a group of faculty members, who are not members of the UFF-FAU collective bargaining team, for the purpose of discussing and receiving input on ways in which the representatives of the FAU Board of Trustees could present a salary proposal for the current collective bargaining session. This is a clear and serious violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement which states in Article
1.1, “The Board has recognized the UFF as the exclusive representative, solely for the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to wages, hours, and other conditions of employment as specifically set forth in this Agreement, for all employees in the bargaining unit pursuant to Certification Order Number
04E-010 . . . “. United Faculty of Florida views this as a circumvention of the collective bargaining process and an attempt to unduly influence this process. Also understand this is virtually pitting faculty against faculty. If you are asked by the administration to serve on any committee or focus group whose purpose is provide input to administration on matters covered by collective bargaining, please let me know immediately.
In addition, the Sun-Sentinel reported that FAU recently filed a report to the Florida Board of Governors. According to the article, the university states in that report that it has set aside ”$5.7 million for merit based raises.” While I’m glad to know that the university has committed long overdue funding to faculty raises, the university does not have the authority to unilaterally determine that any or all raises will be merit based. That is something that must be collectively bargained. If the university did, in fact, report this to the Board of Governors, it represents another potential breach of the CBA. At very least it shows a real lack of understanding and/or respect for the collective bargaining process. It could also represent an attempt to manipulate the bargaining process.