Article 23 Salaries Update

We want to thank all of you who joined us for the bargaining session on November 10. Over 130 people attended on Zoom. We responded with a 3% across the board raise and the Interim Provost said no to this at the end of the session. We have been told time and again by the President, Interim Provost and various Vice Presidents how much our work and efforts during the past two years of the pandemic are appreciated. We have heard your responses to UCF salary negotiations and we plan to respond at the next bargaining session on December 1 at 1:30pm. In order to transform UCF into a premier metropolitan university we think UCF needs to invest in the human capital already on campus, it is a matter of priorities. Due to the rise in prices including the cost of housing, food, energy and transportation the US Labor Department has confirmed that inflation is 5.4% higher than last year.

Since we have not gotten a raise since September of 2019 many of you have pointed out that the figures mentioned in our negotiations represent a salary decrease in real numbers and your lived experience. We hear you and we will work to get the best salary package we can. We will have a response to Article 23 Salaries at the December 1 bargaining session, I will share the link when UCF posts it on the Events Calendar in the coming week.

Legislative Update

SB 666: State University Student Fee Waivers-this is a draft bill that will waive fees for graduate students with full time appointments. It is currently with the following committees: Education; Appropriations Subcommittee on Education; Appropriations.

HB 6077: Postsecondary Intellectual Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity-this is a draft bill to repeal HB-233 legislation that is the “intellectual diversity” survey and initiative. It is with the Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning Subcommittee.

SJR 192: Commissioner of Education: This is a draft bill to create an amendment to make the Commissioner of Education an elected position and cabinet member. It is with the Senate Ethics and Elections; Education; Rules.

SB 520: Public Records and Public Meetings: This draft bill would allow Presidential Searches to not be subject to sunshine state public records requests. It is in the Senate – Referred to Education; Governmental Oversight and Accountability; Rules.

There has been no movement on SB 242/HB 57 Racial and Sexual Discrimination or HB 6007: Licenses to Carry Concealed Weapons or Firearms since my last update.

Also there is no news on a draft bill to abolish or revise tenure with the Florida Legislature at this time. This is not to say it will not happen, but at the moment there is no draft bill circulating or anyone publicly seeking support for one. Right now only the Provosts at USF and UF are interested in revising tenure at their universities and distributing drafts of such a proposal on their campuses and other campuses.

Our Social Media Pages

Don’t forget to find us and join us on social media for more information and updates. We have a Twitter account. We have a public Facebook page and if you are member please join our private Facebook Group: to qualify you can go here.

In Solidarity,

Robert Cassanello,
President, UFF-UCF