FAQs
I am not a member of the Union. Is my job impacted by the bargaining/contract process?
If your job is part of the Bargaining Unit, even if you are not a dues-paying member, your job duties, conditions, etc., are part of the Collective Bargaining process.Who are members of the collective bargaining unit at CFK?
All Full-Time Faculty, Academic Services Advisor(s), Assistant Director of the Learning Resources Center, and Assistant Directors of Student Success Services are included. The composition of the Bargaining Unit was jointly negotiated by the College and UFF in the Spring of 2020, as part of determining who would be eligible to vote on the unionization effort.Am I required to become a dues-paying member?
No one is required to join; however, we strongly recommend it. CFK is a small college and the number of employees in the bargaining unit is often fewer than 30. Being a member provides you with a much greater opportunity to ensure your issues are addressed in the negotiation process. Being a dues-paying member includes a number of benefits, which you can review here.I haven’t joined because I am concerned how this might affect my job. Is there a way I can join without management finding out? Yes. Payments are made directly to the United Faculty of Florida. There is no reporting to the College who is and is not a member of the Union.
How do I join the Union and what are the dues? To join the Southernmost Union of Higher Education (a.k.a., The College of the Florida Keys Chapter of United Faculty of Florida), please fill out this UFF-CFK online membership form. Dues are 1% of your base salary.
How long does the bargaining process take? Much depends on the willingness of both parties to prepare, meet, and negotiate. The College initially appealed the vote to unionize (more on this in #11). After the appeal was denied by the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC), your bargaining team and other UFF members provided the College with an initial complete draft of a proposed contract in early February 2021. We negotiate a full Collective Bargaining Agreement (on all Articles) every 3 years. Annually, we re-negotiate the Article on salary. All bargaining sessions are public and most are recorded and posted here. We strongly encourage any and all members of the Bargaining Unit to attend Bargaining Sessions.
What kinds of things are contentious?
Most conditions of work, such as hours worked each week and where these obligations can take place (e.g., on-campus vs. off-campus), contract length for Faculty (UFF-CFK has asked for 9-month contracts instead of 10-month contracts), a salary that is more frequently and appropriately adjusted to the cost-of-living in the Florida Keys and that includes a system for other increases, and employee evaluations that more accurately reflect job performance.I heard that UFF-CFK turned down raises offered by the College in July 2021. Why would you do that? We did not turn it down. Wages are a mandatory subject of bargaining, meaning that the College must discuss wages and wage changes with UFF-CFK and that the parties must seek mutual agreement on any changes. UFF-CFK agreed in principle to CFK’s proposed wage increase. This would typically be handled by the use of a memorandum of agreement (which is what lots of Colleges do). We drafted a one-sentence memo that essentially said “Bargaining Unit members will receive a 4% wage increase” and asked the College if they would agree to the memo. That is all it would have taken to establish mutual agreement between the two parties and we could have had our raise included in our contracts. The College refused to even discuss or view our proposed memo. By simply accepting the 4% raise without a memo of agreement, we risked turning a “mandatory” subject of bargaining into a “permissive” subject through our acquiescence. Permissive subjects don’t have to be negotiated or resolved, which essentially means if the College didn’t want to discuss wage changes with us in the future, they might not have to do so. The College’s legal counsel knows this. We believe it was a tactic to get us to give up a VERY important aspect of our bargaining power (today, as well as into the future) or risk angering members of our bargaining unit.
So what happens now? We will continue bargaining for all of our rights, including wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Who is paying for all of this? UFF-CFK members have donated their time outside of their regular work hours to work on Union-related business. Our (Union) legal fees and related costs are paid for by UFF. We have not been informed of the extent of the College’s costs, including legal fees paid to counsel.
I heard that the College has appealed the Union certification process. What does this mean? In the spring of 2020, the members of the bargaining unit voted overwhelmingly to join the Union. The College appealed the voting process to PERC, asserting that there had been undue influence affecting the vote. PERC examined the evidence and determined that the College “failed to provide a sufficient basis for rerunning the election or nullifying the election results...” In June 2020, the complaint was dismissed and PERC verified the vote, certifying our representation by UFF. The College appealed PERC’s decision to the 1st District Court of Appeals and in July of 2021, this court affirmed PERC’s original decision.
I would like to resign my UFF membership. How do I do that? To resign UFF membership, members must email notification to UFF-CFK (unitedcfk@gmail.com) and submit a completed “UFF Resignation Notice” form to the UFF office (UFF@floridaea.org). This form acknowledges that once the “resignation is effective, [member] will not be eligible for UFF representation in any disciplinary action, criminal matter related to employment, legal representation or grievance or any benefits of my local chapter, UFF, FEA, AFT, NEA or AFL-CIO membership.” Dues payments will cease as soon as possible but no later than 30 days from receipt of the completed form.