From United Faculty of Florida Facebook post, February 26, 2019:
BREAKING NEWS!
The faculty of St. Johns River State College (SJRSC) have spoken and by a vote of 83-27 establish the newest chapter of the United Faculty of Florida (UFF). The vote count followed a three-week period of secret balloting by mail and was certified today by the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission. In all, 77 percent of the faculty voted in the election.
Sandra Dotson-Kirn, SJRSC Nursing Instructor:
“This is a huge move in the right direction, improving communication between administrators and employees. I see positive things happening in the future for both!”
“This is a huge move in the right direction, improving communication between administrators and employees. I see positive things happening in the future for both!”
Clay Moore, SJRSC Faculty Senate President, Biological Sciences Professor:
“Having a chapter of United Faculty of Florida at SJR State is another important step forward for the faculty and their collaboration with the administration in the shared governance of the college.”
“Having a chapter of United Faculty of Florida at SJR State is another important step forward for the faculty and their collaboration with the administration in the shared governance of the college.”
Dr. Bruce Fox, SJRSC Spanish Professor:
“I am very excited that we will now have a faculty union here at SJR State! This is not at all a repudiation of our administrators or an ‘us-versus-them’ movement. This unionization effort has been about developing and enhancing shared governance and establishing collective bargaining as legal equals under Florida’s Constitution.”
“I am very excited that we will now have a faculty union here at SJR State! This is not at all a repudiation of our administrators or an ‘us-versus-them’ movement. This unionization effort has been about developing and enhancing shared governance and establishing collective bargaining as legal equals under Florida’s Constitution.”
Dr. Karen Morian, President of UFF:
“I congratulate the St. Johns River State College faculty as it becomes our 31st chapter, as well as the 14th Florida college, to become part of United Faculty of Florida. Each of these faculty union drives were initiated by local faculty, not union staff or state union leaders. No one outside of their institutions collected any cards. They all filed with nearly double the required authorizations and majority membership. This is historic and a national example to the labor movement. We are thrilled to add their passion, expertise and professionalism to our efforts to improve higher education in the state of Florida."
“I congratulate the St. Johns River State College faculty as it becomes our 31st chapter, as well as the 14th Florida college, to become part of United Faculty of Florida. Each of these faculty union drives were initiated by local faculty, not union staff or state union leaders. No one outside of their institutions collected any cards. They all filed with nearly double the required authorizations and majority membership. This is historic and a national example to the labor movement. We are thrilled to add their passion, expertise and professionalism to our efforts to improve higher education in the state of Florida."
Background:
St. Johns River faculty join faculty at Pasco-Hernando State College, Lake Sumter State College, Tallahassee Community College, State College of Florida (Manatee-Sarasota) and Florida Polytechnic University in voting for union representation since 2016. In all, the United Faculty of Florida has grown from 25 to 31 chapters since 2016 as faculty and higher education professionals realize that higher education needs the collective voices of faculty to support high quality education and to promote adequate and fair funding for our public institutions.
St. Johns River faculty join faculty at Pasco-Hernando State College, Lake Sumter State College, Tallahassee Community College, State College of Florida (Manatee-Sarasota) and Florida Polytechnic University in voting for union representation since 2016. In all, the United Faculty of Florida has grown from 25 to 31 chapters since 2016 as faculty and higher education professionals realize that higher education needs the collective voices of faculty to support high quality education and to promote adequate and fair funding for our public institutions.
SJRSC serves Putnam, Clay and St. Johns counties, which include Palatka, St. Augustine and Orange Park. It is known for being the location of the Florida School of the Arts (Floarts). Opened in 1976, Floarts is one of the premier public art colleges in Florida. SJR State awards its students technical certificates, A.A., A.S. and B.A. degrees. The college is also known for its excellent nursing program, and recently started an LPN certificate. Faculty have published articles in high-profile scholarly academic journals, books by academic and commercial presses, as well as presenting at conferences focused on teaching innovations.
Join me in Welcoming our new members!
From St. Augustine Record, March 29, 2019, page one, below fold
SJR State faculty union forms
By Travis Gibson
There was one phrase that kept coming up when St. Johns River State College Organizing Committee Co-Chair and professor J. Maggio spoke to The Record about the recent formation of a faculty union at the school — shared governance.
“The No. 1 thing we wanted was shared governance,” Maggio said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Some felt rules coming down from the administration, which were not all bad, they came down from the administration with no consultation from the faculty.”
In a February vote, the faculty voted overwhelmingly (83-27) to form the newest chapter of the United Faculty of Florida. In all, about 77 percent of the 141-person faculty voted in the election. The union process from discussion to vote took about two years, said Maggio, a political science professor at the school. Maggio said that although the administration didn’t see a need for a union, they were also non-confrontational during the process, which isn’t always the case when workers attempt to form a union.
“They did not put up an anti-union fight, which was surprising,” Maggio said. “Compared to other places they behaved in a very congenial way. There were no complaints from the union committee on what they did.”
SJR State President Joe Pickens said that was a conscious decision.
“I didn’t think there was a need to try to oppose the union formation,” Pickens told The Record. “As the leader of the college the best way to lead the college it to respect the process and let the faculty decide.”
The union hopes to keep its positive working relationship going as it moves forward to address some of the main concerns of faculty members. One of those issues is pay and the fact that there is no rubric for getting raises, Maggio said.
“There is no way that faculty can get a raise outside of benevolence of the trustees,” Maggio said. “One way they would get around it is they would give one-time Christmas bonuses, but that doesn’t build on salary over time.”
He said the lack of structured raises has led to issues. For example, Maggio said a recent new hire who had been an adjunct professor for 11 years came in and made more money than a professor that had worked SJR State for the last 15 years.
Maggio said the union is exploring the possibility of merit or seniority based raises and plans to bring those ideas to the negotiating table in the future. The union also hopes to push for more academic autonomy and the formation of a more formal grievance process.
The formation of the union at SJR State follows a recent trend around the state. Pasco-Hernando State College, Lake Sumter State College, Tallahassee Community College, State College of Florida (Manatee-Sarasota) and Florida Polytechnic University have all voted to form a union since 2016, growing the number of United Faculty of Florida chapters to 31.
“They all filed with nearly double the required authorizations and majority membership. This is historic and a national example to the labor movement,” said Dr. Karen Morian, President of UFF. “We are thrilled to add their passion, expertise and professionalism to our efforts to improve higher education in the state of Florida.”
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