The Union and the Role of the Faculty Senate

Dear Colleague:
 
In the final days before a faculty collective bargaining election, it sometimes happens that the president and/or other college officers launch a campaign to discourage faculty from choosing a collective bargaining agent. Officials typically claim that Florida is an anti-union environment, that bargaining is endless and unproductive, that collegial relations with administrators will end, and that the status of the faculty senate will be compromised. Officials imply that there will be economic punishments if faculty make the wrong choice.

When you are evaluating these claims, consider the following:

1. For twenty five years Florida university faculty have negotiated strong collective bargaining agreements protecting academic freedom, due process, workload assignments, benefits and salaries. The process is not endless. There is a settlement every year, and every year the contract protecting faculty rights gets better. There is nothing about the law in Florida that makes the process unworkable. On the contrary, stages of the process require a conclusion, and faculty see incremental progress instead of incremental deterioration in their professional lives. By the way, there is not one case (in twenty five years) of university faculty being punished for choosing collective bargaining.
    
2. When you are comparing how faculty unions fare at community colleges, do not be misled into comparing urban with rural environments. There is a hugh difference in the political dynamics. For a more honest comparison with FCCJ, compare Broward CC (Fort Lauderdale) or Hillsborough CC (Tampa) to see what collective bargaining has accomplished after two decades of negotiating strong contracts at each institution. I refer you to a letter Deborah Nycz has written to FCCJ faculty explaining the successes in the Broward experience. I note that the leadership of the faculty union and the leadership of the faculty senate have rotated positions over the years. Each body supports the complementary roles and positions of the other.

   Faculty become stronger when they speak with a unified voice about the essential conditions of their professional lives. Boards of trustees listen and respond when faculty speak directly to them through a legally established channel of access. Boards ignore faculty when administrators are the only ones who speak about faculty concerns. Administrators, board members, faculty senators, legislators, and county commissioners all attend the annual reception sponsored by the faculty union at Broward. The faculty union builds community support for the priorites and financial needs of the college through this process. Not coincidentally, faculty at Broward have had the highest pay raises in the State.

If you choose collective bargaining, the 120,000 faculty and teachers in the Florida Education Association will stand behind you and assist you every step of the way as you enter this new phase of assuming the rightful role of the faculty in the life of the college.

Sincerely,

Tom Auxter
President
United Faculty of Florida
affiliated with the Florida Education Association,
the American Federation of Teachers,
and the National Education Association