Membership

Are you here to sign-up and become a member of UFF? Then head straight to the application form! If you still need some convincing, read on….

Why should I join UFF?

Maybe you’re union material and don’t even know it yet! Take this simple test:

  • Do you think Faculty should have a say in how UCF is run and in how we educate students?
  • Do you think the Administration should have to listen to Faculty when making decisions that affect us and our students?
  • Do you think there should be a better balance of power between Administration and Faculty?
  • Do you cherish academic freedom?
  • Do you want your academic labor to be valued appropriately?
  • Do you believe that better working conditions for Faculty make better learning conditions for our students?
  • Do you wish that since UCF is America’s Partnership University that the Administration should do better at partnering with Faculty?
  • Do you feel that Faculty make UCF a great place to be educated? Or do students enroll here for our Administration?

If you answered YES to any or all of these questions, then you should ask yourself: What are you going to do about it? How are you going to make it happen?

The answer is: Join UFF!

Our faculty union is our collective voice. The more members we have, the more united and powerful we are, and the more the Administration notices this. And then we have more say in making UCF the kind of university we all want it to be.

Wait, aren’t I already a member of UFF just by virtue of being at UCF?

Alas, no. Florida is a “right-to-work” state. You are in our Bargaining Unit, i.e. you are covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement that UFF negotiates, but you’re not a member unless you explicitly fill out a membership form.

Who can join UFF?

If you’re in the Bargaining Unit, you can join. This includes tenured and tenure-track faculty but also includes instructors, lecturers, librarians, visiting faculty, and other professionals at UCF.

How much does it cost?

Membership dues are 1% of your gross salary. Note that if you are on a 9-month contract, dues are only 1% of that 9-month salary; anything you earn during the 3 months of summer (from teaching, external grants, etc.) isn’t included when calculating the 1% dues.

Are there additional benefits of joining?

You bet! Some of them are listed on our benefits page. For example there’s the $1 million employment-liability coverage and the free attorney consultation/referral.

One important benefit of membership in UFF is that you will have representation by an experienced UFF grievance officer if you’re ever in a situation where you believe your rights have been violated. We emphasize that only dues-paying UFF members can get this help. As of November 5, 2008, UFF cannot represent you in grievances if you were not a dues-paying union-member at the time a violation of your rights occurred. Here is the UFF’s official non-representation policy.

(What this means is that you cannot wait until “something happens” to join the union. After all, insurance doesn’t work that way!)

All right, you’ve convinced me, where do I sign up?

The application form for membership in UFF is available as a PDF file. After you have completed the form, please print, sign, and submit it either via Campus Mail or U.S. Mail to:

Dr. Patricia Angley
English Department
CNH 405A
4000 Central Florida Boulevard
Orlando, Florida 32816-1346
patangley@aol.com
407-823-6840

Alternately you can contact our chapter Membership Committee chair, Yan Fernandez, and he will be happy to come to your office and pick up the form.

We take the form and ensure that the original goes to the UCF Personnel/Payroll Deduction Office so that dues will come automatically out of your paycheck. Also, one copy stays here in our chapter’s files, and another copy goes to the UFF state office in Tallahassee.

Oh, about payroll deduction: I actually would prefer to just send a check myself to UFF for my dues. Can I do that?

Sure! There is (can you guess?) a form for that too. Just please let us know that you’ve done that, so that we know that you’re a member!

I’m switching to a new position at UCF that takes me out of the Bargaining Unit; can I still be a member of UFF?

YES! There is a chapter of UFF for “at-large” folks that are not within the bargaining unit! Here is the form you need to fill out if you want to be an at-large member of UFF. The annual dues (as of the 2017-18 academic year) for an at-large member are $510.53. The form lives on the “Join Us Today” page of the UFF website.

I’m about to retire; can I still be a member of UFF?

YES! There is a chapter of UFF for retired folks — in fact it is the same as the “at-large” chapter (see above)! Here is the form you need to fill out if you are retired and want to be a member of UFF. The annual dues for a retiree are $86.00; the lifetime-member dues are $450.00 (though note that in order for you to receive the NEA life membership that comes with that, the member must pay the $450 before retiring from the position). Both of those dues are current as of the 2015-16 academic year.

Didn’t you all have a different membership form before?

True, it was somewhat different. We’re required to have the “Appendix B” language on the form, and that’s still true. The old form had just that language and nothing else, making the form a little befuddling. The new form rectifies that problem (we hope!). Please use the new form for now.

For (insert reason here), I’ve decided I can’t be a member any more. How do I drop out of UFF?

If you wish to no longer be a member of the UFF, then you must complete a resignation form.