UFF-FAU is a professional organization of, by, and for the FAU faculty. We are a democratic, member-supported, volunteer-powered voice for higher education faculty at FAU and statewide. In particular, we are active in three areas:
Collective Bargaining: UFF-FAU serves as the bargaining agent that negotiates the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA, or “contract”) that governs, among other things, salary, benefits, academic freedom, tenure, assignments, evaluations, and job security. Collective bargaining is led by a faculty team, with assistance from professional legal staff in the state office and expert legal counsel when necessary.
Contract Enforcement: Whether intentionally or not, administrators sometimes violate conditions of the CBA. The CBA includes a provision for faculty who believe that their rights have been violated to file grievances which, if not resolved, can proceed to arbitration. UFF volunteers (and, if necessary, staff from the statewide office and outside legal counsel) support members in these proceedings at no cost.
Government Relations: UFF-FAU works with its state and national affiliates to educate the public and policy makers on the importance of higher education to Florida’s future and the importance of faculty to the future of FAU. At times, these efforts are made in coordination with other groups to multiply our voice — e.g. the Administration, the Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors, student organizations, community organizations, organized labor — but UFF-FAU is first and foremost the independent voice of FAU faculty.
Although UFF-FAU leaders frequently consult informally with leaders of the Faculty Senate, these are two different organizations with fundamentally different missions. The Faculty Senate’s mission is to serve as the vehicle for faculty governance over the university as an educational institution, whereas UFF’s mission is to advocate for and protect the interest of faculty as FAU employees. In other words, the Faculty Senate’s main focus is academic affairs, while UFF’s main focus is terms and conditions of employment. Most important, all aspects of faculty governance are recommendations to an administrator, whereas UFF is the only independent voice of the faculty, the legally-elected representative of all full-time faculty at FAU except those in the College of Medicine. The two domains sometimes overlap, and UFF works hard to maintain professional relations with Faculty Senate leaders. Many Faculty Senators are UFF members.