TO ALL CHAPTER PRESIDENTS FROM TOM AUXTER
Dear FSU Colleagues,
A letter from President Wetherell received this week responded to my earlier letter to FSU Trustees regarding faculty layoffs. You can find
both letters at the www.uff-fsu.org web site (Pres. Wetherell’s at
http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/WetherellLetter20090904.pdf and the text
of my letter as part of the news release at
http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/NewsRelease20090901.pdf. My report to the
FSU Faculty Senate this week also touched on some of the same issues
(available at http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/fs20090909.pdf).
Consistent with President Wetherell’s suggestion that the UFF address
higher education funding, our UFF-FSU Chapter and the statewide UFF
will continue to work for better university funding as we did via “Fate
of the State,” lobbying, and other activities for the most recent
legislative session. See, for example,
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2009/JA/Feat/jumo.htm
At the same time, we remain committed to advancing and defending faculty
rights and interests where those rights and interests are threatened by
administrator decisions on budget implementation.
We hope to do this while at the same time developing a more
collaborative relation with the FSU administration. For example, we
would certainly welcome President Wetherell’s attendance at the
President Consultations (per our Collective Bargaining Agreement’s
Article 2). We would also encourage President Wetherell to include
representatives of the faculty’s legally certified bargaining agent and
otherwise increase faculty representation in any budget crisis
committees that are involved in decisions affecting faculty members’
employment. We will be happy to discuss alternatives to faculty
layoffs, and to convey the faculty’s views on other budget-cutting
alternatives, as we have done for several months.
Best regards,
Jack Fiorito, President
UFF-FSU Chapter