Press Release - FGCU Faculty Union Declares Impasse -
March 12, 2010
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“We
are
very disappointed in this outcome, especially after years of forging
local
agreements collaboratively in a timely and satisfactory way,” said
UFF-FGCU
President, Dr. Madelyn Isaacs. She added that the FGCU employees
represented by
this agreement will continue to provide the quality education and
service to
students and the community that have promoted FGCU’s rapid growth and
reputation.
Isaacs
also indicated that “The problem is we are a relatively new University
whose
faculty work on multi-year contracts and without the attraction of
tenure. Now additionally, faculty lose money every year they
remain at
FGCU when the administration hires new and less experienced faculty at
salaries
at or higher than the salaries of faculty who have been here for years
and have
more experience and accomplishments to their credit. The University
isn’t
rewarding years of teaching, service, and scholarship. Our proposals
sought to
stem the growing inequity in compensation, which currently sends a
message to
senior faculty that they need to leave FGCU to be valued. This simply
isn’t a
good way to build and retain a quality faculty."
Salaries
and benefits are automatically renegotiated each year. Additional UFF
proposals
covered assignments and bargaining rights. Bargaining for the 2010-2013
contract was scheduled to be underway on February 1, 2010, but was
deferred
until the 2009 contract was resolved.
In
late
February 2010, after the
administration and
faculty bargaining teams had agreed on conditions to finalize their
negotiations and begin the 2010 negotiations on the entire contract,
the
administration withdrew its agreement. UFF remains committed to
fairness and
equity in compensation, benefits and assignments and seeks to assert
its legal
rights to bargain terms and conditions of employment. During Impasse
bargaining
can continue on these and other open articles and if agreement can be
reached
the Impasse process can stop.
In
particular,
UFF attempted to include contract language that would ensure more
equitable
salaries and fight “compression and inversion”
discrimination—conditions where
the salaries of junior
faculty are very close to or are higher than those of senior faculty. A
UFF
study found both compression and inversion at FGCU. UFF
recognized the
difficult financial circumstances
and bargained to end such
discrimination against
longer-term faculty when money becomes available. The
university
administration refused to bargain any language on these salary
inequities.
UFF
also
proposed to protect its right to bargain over all faculty terms and
conditions
of employment. However, the administration insisted the union
waive its
legal right to bargain over any changes in terms and conditions of
employment
not specifically covered in the existing collective bargaining
agreement.
The
issues at impasse will be reviewed by the Florida Public Employees
Relations
Commission (PERC), a state commission whose members are appointed
by the
governor. The process will involve a hearing before a special
magistrate
concerning the areas of disagreement. The magistrate will make
recommendations for resolution of the impasse, and these
recommendations will
go to the UBOT and faculty for ratification. Impasse hearings will take
place
at FGCU and be open to the public.
For more information about why FGCU faculty believe
that they must go to impasse this year, go to the Collective Bargaining section.