Having just returned from the UFF Council of Presidents meeting, I thought it very important to share with you the information I received regarding UFF Legal Services. Please remember that UFF Legal Services are available ONLY to PJC faculty who are members of UFF-PJCFA at the time of the grievable incident.
The SUS and College UFF Chapter Presidents were told that terminations were going to have the highest priority for the next several months. UFF's legal services are actually handled by labor and employment attorneys Meyer and Brooks, P.A. of Tallahassee. This firm will handle not only college and university terminations, but also K-12.
While there is no guarantee that each SUS and College faculty member's case will be heard, each case that is grieved by the local chapter will be reviewed initially by the UFF Contract Enforcement Committee and, upon its recommendation, will be forwarded to Meyer and Brooks.
UFF-University of Florida recently won an arbitration involving a wrongful termination based on the University failing to adhere to the correct definition of a "unit" according to the University of Florida's CBA. After that ruling, a similar termination was rescinded.
While PJCFA continues to believe that Dr. Meadows will make layoffs the last step in any money saving plan, we also want to assure our members that UFF is carefully monitoring all termination actions and will act on your behalf.
1 comment:
This is Charlotte. I haven't until now responded to the question (posted under an earlier posting) regarding what was it costing the union for impasse. This heading seems like a good place to answer that question.
UFF in Tallahasse has hired 4 Field Service Representatives who cover the Northwest, Northern, Central and Central portions of the state. These field representatives assist local chapters whenever the local needs help.
During the preparation for impasse, PJCFA was assisted by our Field Service Representative Tom Wazlavek who also served as our legal representative during the impasse hearing. This was part of his regular work responsibilities and was provided at no additional cost to the chapter.
UFF paid $1500 to have Professor Leroy Dubeck of Temple University review the past 5 years of PJC's Auditor General Reports to determine, if in fact, money was available for salary increases and to have Dr. Dubeck testify at the impasse hearing. Had Dr. Dubeck been required to appear at the hearing in person, PJCFA would have had to pay for his travel, meals and lodging from the local treasury. However, both sides agreed to allow Dr. Dubeck to testify by telephone so PJCFA did not have to pay additional expenses.
UFF will also pay 1/2 the cost of the Special Magistrate's fees. i do not have that actual dollar amount, but it should be about $500 (1/2 of Special Magistrate Tom Young's one day per diem). As mentioned earlier, PJCFA would have agreed to a Federal Mediator who would have been provided at no cost, but the College preferred a Special Magistrate conduct the impasse.
PJCFA spent about $30 for copying the 4 sets of documents we submitted and the binders and dividers for the documents.
PJCFA also paid $51 for the copying and shipping of the transcript of the Broward Community College's recent impasse hearing.
Obviously, no member of PJCFA was paid for their time researching, preparing the material which was submitted to the Special Magistrate or for their time testifing at the hearing.
I hope this answers your question.
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