Official Update from USFFA

June 24, 2020 Update

Two requests:

1. If you haven’t already done so, please read the proposals we sent out on Monday before the meeting. This is on a password-protected page of our website, please see your email for the password. In the document titled “USFFA Proposals and USF Administration Responses, June 21, 2020,” you will see our requests in black typeface, and the Administration’s replies in blue. In the document titled “University of San Francisco Proposals,” you will see the latest Administration proposal. The Negotiation Team has since made counter-proposals and responses and met with Administration yesterday (June 23), and will have an update at the meeting today. If you are familiar with these documents ahead of time, the Team can focus on clarifications and updates, and leave the most possible time for your comments and questions at the General Membership Meeting.

2. We want to make sure that this meeting is an opportunity not only for members to speak, but also to listen to one another. To achieve this, we are attempting to simulate our in-person meetings as closely as possible, and will be disabling the chat function. Mindful of issues with connectivity, background noise, etc., we will continue to keep a google doc open where you can submit written comments (similar to the big sheets of paper we put around the room in an in-person General Membership Meeting). Thank you for your cooperation! 

Beyond the General Membership Meeting:

The Negotiating Team has used your suggestions at meetings and survey results to determine what to fight for in negotiations, and we have answered questions in the FAQs on our website. Click here to submit ideas, suggestions, or questions to the Suggestion Box. 


Status of Public Health Working Group recommendations   

We want to explain why there was no vote taken on the recommendations of the Public Health Working Group at the last USFFA General Membership Meeting (June 17), since the item appeared on the agenda circulated in advance of the meeting.

While the Negotiating Team has made extensive use of the thorough work of the Public Health Working Group, we decided against putting the recommendations to a vote for two reasons: 1- We believe that the USFFA should discuss health and safety concerns, and these specific recommendations, with the other bargaining units on campus and act in consort with them and their concerns. To have voted on the existing recommendations document would have precluded their input, and we wanted to avoid acting unilaterally in this way. 2- We became concerned that a USFFA endorsement of the recommendations might be taken as setting the ceiling (or maximum) on what the University would be required to do to keep students, staff, librarians, and faculty safe, when in fact the situation is more fluid and might require further steps to ensure everyone’s safety.

As the discussion of public health issues evolves over the summer, we will be able to build on faculty expertise and the work of the Public Health Working Group, and will continue to seek their guidance on a plan that keeps all of us safe and secure.

June 22, 2020 Update from Negotiating Team

Dear Colleagues, 

We are writing to update you on the negotiations and to share the proposals that the Administration and USFFA Negotiation Team have put forth. 

Negotiations with the Administration began in the first week of June with a series of meetings to discuss ground rules. On June 11, the Administration offered their initial proposal. In a meeting on June 15, we reviewed their proposal and got some clarifications; we then presented some of our initial counter-concepts. On June 17, the Negotiation Team presented the Administration with a set of formal proposals based on the input you have shared with us through our weekly surveys, general membership meetings, and conversations with member-driven advisory teams. We crafted these proposals with an eye toward striking a balance between the long-term financial health of the institution and the pressing needs of USFFA members and our colleagues in other unions. In particular, we have focused on salaries, benefits, workload, and the health and safety of all members. On June 21, we received replies to most of our proposals from the Administration. We again met with the Administration to discuss these proposals on Monday afternoon. 

The two most recent proposals are on our website. This is on a password-protected page of our website. The password was sent to you in your email. In the document titled “USFFA Proposals and USF Administration Responses, June 21, 2020,” you will see our requests in black typeface, and the Administration’s replies in blue. In the document titled “University of San Francisco Proposals,” you will see the latest Administration proposal. The Negotiation Team is now preparing counter-proposals and  responses and will be meeting with Administration again on June 23. 

Please note:

  • The Administration’s responses to the USFFA proposals use the term “Denied.” After sending us this language, the Administration’s team later said that their use of this term in bargaining suggests that the proposal will not be accepted in its current form, but that they welcome counter-proposals.

  • We are still very much in the midst of bargaining. Again, the Administration has told us that these are preliminary proposals and talks will continue. We have not yet reached the “last, best offer.” 

In our view, the Administration’s position has been narrowly focused on reducing the financial shortfall by making cuts to the wages and benefits of our members. Our roadmap covers broader terrain, proposing that the Administration take some creative financial steps including securing a loan, using operating reserves, drawing modestly from the endowment, and considering other types of cuts that would reduce the impact on people at the University. We have also proposed a model in which any freezes and cuts are as minimal and targeted as possible given the circumstances. We presented our collective concerns for ensuring everyone’s safety during the pandemic and being properly recognized and compensated for our increased workload. We have also proposed solutions to some of the specific concerns of librarians. 

In May, we stood together in an important moment of solidarity to support our faculty colleagues. In addition, many USFFA members have been doing other kinds of support work. Some have undertaken considerable research to show that there are other financial means that the University could pursue to weather the storm and reduce the potential shortfall, while others have produced weekly surveys.  At the same time, other members have worked on public health concerns, and still others have helped to ensure that students come back in the fall. 

What are the next steps? 

We are meeting again with the Administration on Tuesday, after the University town hall. We hope to have even more information for you after that. Please join us at the general membership meeting on Wednesday for further updates and discussion. To prepare for our discussion, please take some time to visit our website, which has a growing archive of our communications about contingency planning and negotiation. Revisit the ballot from May, the MOU between administration and the USFFA. Read the FAQs and the update from our union president from last week’s general membership meeting. 

Although we may not all agree about every step, the more we stick together, the stronger we will be. Our strength resides in our standing together, and not just for ourselves. That is what our union is for. Collective strength will deliver better outcomes for all of us.

We look forward to meeting with you on Wednesday, June 24, at 3:30 pm.

Your Negotiating Team