FAQ on the Tentative Agreement

USFFA Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Tentative Agreement

July 7, 2020

The USFFA Negotiating Team has spent the last six weeks in intense discussions with the Administration as to how to deal with the crises due to the COVID-19 epidemic and how it affects the financial well-being of the University, the changes in our working conditions and our overall health as a university. 

As USFFA President Sonja Poole said: “If this were a normal situation, that is, our regularly-scheduled bargaining, we would have been focused on gaining things -- and we would have spent months preparing and gathering input on member priorities before even starting. [Instead], faced with a global pandemic, and an economic recession, we have found ourselves at the table negotiating sacrifices. Rather than strategize for gains, our goal in essence, was to minimize losses. And that’s exactly what we did. What this means is that none of us loves this deal. No one loves having to make sacrifices.”

I. KEY POINTS IN THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT 

The entire proposal will be sent to you and will be on our website. Here are some of the key points: 

• Librarians with probationary appointments are protected from termination notices until March 31, 2021, and now have a sixty-day notice period. With this agreement and the earlier May Memo of Understanding, now all faculty and librarians with probationary appointments have job security until at least May 31, 2021. (Note: termination is different from layoffs. See section IV. Job Terminations and Layoffs below.) 

• Any changes in pay or work rules will be temporary and will revert back to our existing contract next May 2021 at the end of this fiscal year. The agreement explicitly states that changes will not set any precedents for future bargaining.

• The Administration’s original proposal asked USFFA members to cover 48 percent of any shortfall through cuts to our pay and changes in our sabbaticals and work rules. We were able to reduce this number to 36 percent.

• All step increases and promotions will continue for this year. 

• If the shortfall is lower than expected, the cuts will be reduced or completely reversed, and the agreement has clear benchmarks for this.

• We were able to push back on the Administration’s proposal for us to teach an additional course in the spring semester (see Q28 in under Working Conditions below).

•  In fall 2020, faculty members assigned to teach an additional section because of the social distancing requirements will be paid for the additional section at the non-PHP rate. 

• Any pay cuts will be tiered; the first $70,000 of all members’ income will be exempt from any cuts. The rate at which full professor salaries have been cut has been reduced from the original Administration proposal (see Q4 under The Agreement below). 

POINT OF CLARIFICATION:

Total Net Revenue Shortfall determines the level of cuts in the Tentative Agreement--how is it calculated? And how do we know that the Administration's spending over the summer won't increase the shortfall? 

Total Net Revenue, for the purposes of this agreement, is the Total Revenue that the University brings in from all sources (primarily tuition, but also room and board, events fees, etc) minus Financial Aid that the university awards to students minus any Tuition Exceptions (think of this kind of like another form of financial aid). 

To answer the second part of the question, since the definition of Total Net Revenue in the agreement only includes expenses related to Financial Aid, the Total Net Revenue Shortfall cannot be influenced by the administration's other spending decisions (e.g., capital projects, compensation, ITS spending, etc). 

Returning to the first part of the question, using the figures for Total Revenue and Financial Aid in the placeholder budget that is available now, we can compute a Baseline Total Net Revenue against which the Total Net Revenue Shortfall will be measured:

Baseline Total Net Revenue  = Total Revenue ($489,023) - Financial Aid ($124,361) = $364,662

Finally, the Total Net Revenue Shortfall, which determines the level of cuts in the Tentative Agreement, is the Total Net Revenue computed in the fall, from the budget that will be formally approved by the board of trustees following fall census, minus Baseline Total Net Revenue ($364,662).

For definitions of these and other terms, please see Appendix B of the Tentative Agreement.

II. VOTING

Q1: What does the vote mean? 

A: *** Note that this answer has been updated on July 10 from our original July 9 FAQ, following new information.***

The vote, whether Yes or No, could signal a variety of things; this is a political question. 

A Yes vote could signal that the membership views the Tentative Agreement as the best that could be achieved given very difficult circumstances. It represents support for the position articulated by the Negotiating Team, which is that they have taken this negotiation as far as they could. The Negotiating Team believes that it reached an agreement that offers protections to our members at an extremely difficult time, and which significantly minimizes the damage and minimizes uncertainty.

A No vote could be a way for members to express their concern with management’s tactics and/or to indicate that they believe that a better deal is possible. Critically, a large mobilization would be necessary to accompany a No vote, in order to exert pressure on management to make a better offer. However, according to our attorney, a No vote also carries significant risks, potentially signalling a lack of confidence that the Negotiating Team bargained in good faith and reached the best deal possible, potentially signalling to administration that faculty are not reliable partners in contingency planning and shared governance, and potentially signalling that we do not have solidarity within our union. 

What would happen next after a No vote depends on several factors. Given that this is unusual bargaining, against the backdrop of rapidly evolving economic conditions,if the Administration chooses to impose an agreement on us, we would be in murky legal territory, and we would have to face that challenge if it comes. This is partly due to political decisions now in play at the federal level and especially at the National Labor Relations Board. It is not entirely clear what would be recognized as the University's “last best offer,” and what would be considered within the scope of that offer,  particularly in light of the June agreement previously approved by the membership It is possible they could revert back to the 48% figure.  Still, faced with a union that opposes the deal, the Administration may well choose to call us back to the negotiating table. A key question then would then be whether our union, has the capacity and bargaining strength to further engage in this round of negotiations, and whether the evolving economic situation is likely to put the faculty in a better or worse negotiating position.

Either way, the intense process of the last six weeks is only one step in a much longer process in which we need to develop a comprehensive action plan which includes how we will communicate our collective decision and our approach to our work for the coming year.

III. THE AGREEMENT

Q2: What are the salary-related reductions?

A: There are three salary-related reductions in the tentative agreement. The first concerns our scheduled 4% cost of living (COLA) increase, the second the step increases, and the third are tiered salary cuts. Depending on the severity of the shortfall, some or all of these would be enacted for the year. 

Q3: Why are the cuts tiered? Did you negotiate for the flat cut?

A: The Negotiating Team worked to minimize salary loss for all members. One of the key arguments of the Administration was that all cuts be equitable. We countered that administrators should bear more of the burden, as they make more than most faculty. However we did take the position that all of us share the same basic burden of costs of living in the Bay Area and that those towards the bottom of the pay scale should be protected. (In doing so, we recognized that we were protecting colleagues in other USF unions, whose salaries are at the low end; our pay cuts will be used as a model for theirs). If we had exchanged the tiered cut for a 10% flat cut, all faculty would have experienced a 14.8% decrease from their expected salaries. 

Q4: The pay cut structure seems really complicated. Are we confident that the university and payroll will get it right for each of us?

A: We agree it is complicated. The Administration originally wanted a simple formula that everyone could check with pencil and paper. However, as concerns came in from many different members across all of the pay scales in the USFFA and our allied USF unions, we tried to develop a formula that protected people’s salaries and benefits as much as possible. Since there was some confusion previously about the total impact of all terms of the Tentative Agreement on salary, and whether the reduction percentage was calculated based on what the salary would have been, or against what the salary is now, the chart below includes both figures.

In August, please carefully check these charts and verify what you expect to be paid against your paycheck.

Comprehensive Impact of Reductions (PDF)

Proposed Salaries under Possible Scenarios (PDF)

Video explanation provided by Janet Yang

Q5: How can we find our salary step? 

A: On your pay statement (on USFWorks) you can find your total salary and if you compare that with the salary scale in the CBA, you can figure out the step. 

Q6. How does the step system work? Do you increase a step every year or is it organized in some other way?

A: Look in the CBA, pgs 84-85. You automatically increase one step every year until/unless you are at step 8 and haven’t yet come up for promotion to the next level. 

Q7: What does getting our step increases back mean? Are you disaggregating the step and the cost of living adjustment (COLA)? 

A: Yes. They are separated. To see the value of the step increase, look in the salary table in the CBA.

Q8: What would have to happen to roll back the cuts in the Tentative Agreement?

A: If the enrollment numbers and the net revenue are at or above the budgeted projections by the census on September 4, any cuts would be rolled back and we would see this in our October paychecks. In any case, the Tentative Agreement expires in May 2021.

Q9: Will we ever get cost of living adjustment (COLA) back for the 20-21 school year in these scenarios?

A: Yes, if the shortfall is less than 9 million. 

Q10: Isn’t the pay cut for full professor step 8 nearly the same here and in the Administration’s first proposal?

A: Yes and no. In both this proposal and the Administration’s first proposal, full professors at step 8 will receive an approximately 15% cut -- if the shortfall is very large. However, in the Administration’s first proposal, the 15% cut would occur if the shortfall were $32M. In this new proposal, the 15% cut occurs only if the shortfall is more than $40M. So we moved the benchmark for that cut further out in the current proposal.

Q11: In an optimistic scenario, if the shortfall falls way below $9 million, what is the impact on future sabbaticals? 

A: If the net revenue shortfall is less than 2%, then the sabbatical clock in the next cycle will be one year shorter for everyone (putting members back on the original clock). This language is in the sabbatical proposal we voted on in May. 

Q12: Will this impact my retirement?

A: Yes, to the extent that the University’s contributions to our 401a retirement fund are based on our salaries. So if your salary is cut by 5%, your retirement benefit for that year will also be reduced by 5%. Cuts to retirement are included in the USFFA calculations of salary reductions. Additional cuts to our retirement benefits (TIAA) could be made if the deficit goes over $57 million. Any changes to the TIAA agreement need to be negotiated with all the unions at USF and, additionally, they would take at least 45 days to be implemented. For these reasons, the Administration does not want to take this option until other measures are exhausted. 

Q13: Why aren’t recent retirements (as of June 1) “counted” as part of faculty contribution? 

A: The Administration is counting those in the fiscal year 19-20. Those savings will begin to accrue in the next fiscal year (FY22), because the retirement payments (75%) and the cost of replacing faculty in the classroom offset the savings in fiscal year 21.

Q14: Will furloughs ever be an option in lieu of salary reductions? I would rather work less (and be compensated for fewer hours), than take a pay cut and still work a 37.5 hour work week.

A: We raised this possibility; it would be a very complicated system to implement given the complexity of our different work assignments. In extreme scenarios, USFFA will have another opportunity to negotiate reductions in workload to avoid layoffs. 

Q15: Why is voluntary leave not considered before the worst-case $57 million shortfall scenario? 

A: We discussed this. In future negotiations, voluntary leaves that have been confirmed will be considered. 

IV. JOB TERMINATION AND LAYOFFS

Q16. How does this proposal affect the 67-70 untenured faculty and librarians who were threatened in May? 

A: This Agreement and the projected savings that the USFFA will contribute should stop or reduce layoffs the Administration might enact. Contractually, most USFFA members are protected for at least the remainder of the academic year. Permanent librarians still only have 6 months’ notice. Keep in mind that faculty members with probationary appointments in their second year could still receive a termination letter before December 15, 2020 (Article 17.3.3) and those in their first year could receive one before March 15, 2021 (Article 17.3.2). Term Faculty face other conditions; see below in this FAQ for more detail on their situation.

The Administration may threaten people again in the future and we need to start preparing now for how we would handle that possibility. 

Q17. Where do we find the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)?

A; You can find it our our website on the Documents page here.

V. THE ADMINISTRATION

Q18: What is the baseline from which the shortfall will be judged?

A: The Administration’s figure for net revenue is $364 million. The gross revenue mainly consists of tuition (89%) and room and board (9%), and the net revenue amount excludes the Law School and financial aid expenses. Recent budget documentation from the university is available here:https://myusf.usfca.edu/planning-budget/office-reports

Q19: Is the Administration taking its fair share of cuts?

A: In this agreement, the Administration funds a larger part of the deficit from reserves than originally planned. The agreement also pushes them towards further liquidation of assets or taking loans. The University Budget Advisory Council and other shared governance bodies must keep a very close eye on the budget. 

Q20: What data has been presented to the USFFA to support the $40 million level of cuts starting August? Are the data verifiable? 

A: It is highly likely that the dorms will be running at less than half capacity, if not closed altogether. Revenue from room and board is approximately $30 million. Additionally, we know that health concerns and economic impacts on families are causing many students to defer or cancel their enrollment. The Administration has said that $36 million is the most likely deficit number. All salary cuts are painful, they can be reversed if the shortfall does not reach that level.

Q21: Was the USFFA able to use the forensic accountant’s work? 

A: Yes, we have received some preliminary reports from the forensic accountant, which we were able to use during the negotiations. We will make further use of the analysis in our next negotiations and as we work to enforce our agreements with the university.

Q22: One of the slides showed the university covering 20% of the shortfall and the USFFA covering 36%. Who covers the remaining 44%?

A: The remaining 44% would come from budget lines that are not for full-time and part-time faculty compensation. This includes compensation for non-represented USFFA staff, members of other unions (OPE, gardeners, facilities, SEIU), and Administration; non-personnel expenses for other divisions (for example, ITS, Athletics, Development); and key university-wide expenses such as library subscriptions, office supplies, facilities and maintenance. 

Q23: What are the current enrollment numbers?

A: As of July 1, the numbers are slightly down for undergraduates and more significantly for graduate enrollments, and have shifted down with the spike in COVID-19 cases. However none of us knows exactly what will happen given the rapidly evolving situation with the pandemic. 

Q24: Can the Administration use this agreement to re-open our Collective Bargaining Agreement? 

A: The Administration has agreed to waive the right to open the contract in the fall semester. They still maintain the rights to re-open our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in spring 2021 if there are reductions in tuition or net revenue as stipulated in Article 45. 

Q25: Did USFFA-member organizing outside of bargaining (ie: emails to the President and Board of Trustees, student and alumni letters & testimonials, the car caravan, etc.) have an impact?

A: It’s pretty clear to us that they did. The Administration moved in our direction as the negotiations came to a close. Additionally, members of the USFFA built solidarity among all groups on campus, potentially strengthening other bargaining units for negotiations to come. As this work continues, we hope that there will be increasing understanding and solidarity across subgroups within the union.

VI. WORKING CONDITIONS 

Q26: If we request to work remotely, what are the implications? 

A: The administration has told us that they are willing to accept “all reasonable requests” and that any changes need to be made in writing by July 20, 2020.

Q27: If we currently are not assigned a room for our course, does this mean the course could still be split into two sections? 

A: The Administration told us that they don’t expect to split very many courses into two sections. However, if a dean assigns a faculty member to teach on-the-ground, and the class is split into multiple sections due to social distancing requirements, the faculty member will be compensated at the non-PHP rate for the extra sections.

Q28: Will there be more additions to our workload?

A: The Administration had originally proposed increasing our workload in Spring 2021 so that, if the financial shortfall was very high, all faculty would teach an additional 3 or 4 unit course for no compensation. The Negotiating Team bargained to remove this proposal. The agreement instead says that, if the shortfall is between $57 million and $69 million, the USFFA will meet with the Administration to determine additional measures such as: cuts to salary and benefits; retirement incentives and programs; voluntary unpaid leaves of absence; workload reductions; reductions in course release; and/or additional teaching assignments of one course. 

Q29: Was there any discussion of safety issues -- testing, cleaning and isolation in this pandemic?

A. Given our right as a union to discuss and negotiate health and safety issues at any time, the outcome of discussion within the negotiating team was to create a health and safety group to address related issues. Part of our current action plan is to develop the USFFA’s position(s) and work with all other union and non-represented union and non-represented employees and students to collectively protect everyone’s health and safety on campus this Fall. Currently, we are waiting for clarification of some of the recommendations in the Public Health Working Group’s document as well as information related to how the recommendations will be implemented to inform our way forward. 

Q30: What else needs to be negotiated around health and safety?

A: Health and Safety are key issues that can always be discussed and negotiated at any time, and we will be actively doing this in the next period. 

Q31: How does this affect librarians?

A: Librarians with probationary appointments (in their first two years) now have a notice period of sixty days for letters of termination and a promise that letters would not be sent out before March 31, 2021. This puts them on par with faculty with probationary appointments in that they all would continue their appointment until at least May 31, 2021.

Librarians with permanent appointments continue to have a notice period of six months for termination. 

Note that termination is different from layoffs. See Termination and Layoffs.

Q32: Why are people on Term contracts so vulnerable? 

A: Term Faculty are especially vulnerable because there are no clear standards around individual contract renewal. The CBA is largely silent on Term Faculty contracts and the little said on the subject is in Article 17. Currently, Term Faculty contract lengths vary from 1 year to 7 years, and the CBA allows up to 10 years per Article 17.2.3.E (See Figure 1). Most of Article 17, however, is about how Term Faculty cannot be tenured and what happens when a Term Faculty contract is not renewed (termination deadlines and severance). Future negotiations need to expand Article 17 to include language that explicitly outlines how, why, and for how long term contracts are renewed. 

The varied treatment of Term Faculty in USF’s different schools and colleges also warrants clarification in the CBA. Some schools have instituted a “one-year only” rule for Term Faculty; other schools issue Term Contracts that span the full range of years. Because each term contract is an individual--not a collective--agreement, schools have been able to enact widely differing standards for Term Faculty. USFFA members in such divisions are offered no recourse because the CBA is silent on this issue.

Q33: What differences are there among Term contracts? 

A: Approximately, one fifth of the USFFA membership are Term Faculty, who fall into two categories: renewable and non-renewable. Renewable term-faculty, however, are hired to meet ongoing needs and established positions (lines) in departments and programs. Many of these come with terminal (research) degrees as the result of national searches. They are hired with the expectation of making a career at USF with all the necessary caveats regarding performance evaluations for promotion in rank. Renewable Term Faculty are/have been program, department, and school council Chairs and hired to develop new programs--graduate and undergraduate--at USF. Renewable Term faculty have specifically chosen this teaching-centric position even though many continue to engage in research and service in their disciplines. Term Faculty are paid on the same step scale as other Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors in the USFFA.

Some departments only request non-renewable Term Faculty in the case of a sabbatical or planned leave. These Term Faculty typically get a 1-year contract and there is no question that the term will end. In such cases, the faculty member is unlikely to take on a significant role in the department, college, or university.

Q34: Have Faculty on Term contracts always been so vulnerable?

A: All types of Term contracts, as currently constituted under the CBA, as mentioned above, are inherently vulnerable. In our May negotiations we eliminated one aspect of this vulnerability by moving those 30-day termination notices forward by one year. But this does not eliminate the problem that Term contracts can simply not be renewed at their conclusion or that the length of the term can change each time. Most importantly, Term contract non-renewals are not currently grievable under our CBA. This is a deep vulnerability for those individuals and for the faculty as a whole as it means that one-fifth of our full time colleagues live with ongoing concern about their long term status at USF; and that the Administration can always use this vulnerability as a lever against all of us. 

New Term contracts are also subject to the vulnerability that the USFFA agreed to in 2017 when the membership voted to allow a side letter to be added to our CBA that permits the administration to require faculty in new Term contracts to teach an extra course each semester for two years. This requirement puts those term faculty at a workload level that is two units above our contractually-agreed workload. This is effectively a pay cut and makes it very challenging for those faculty to participate in the life of the university in normal ways, which undermines their ability to apply for promotions among other things.

VII. COLLEAGUES WITH VISAS  

Q35: Has it been confirmed by the University Administration that they would talk to immigration lawyers about the implications for H-1B and other visa workers in various scenarios and that they would seek solutions that do not jeopardize visa and immigration statuses?

A: Yes. This is a priority for the USFFA and the Administration. The Administration has indicated that they will work with USFFA to handle these cases and identify options that will protect our members. The attorneys are reviewing each application and are advising the Administration on next steps. We emailed members during the last week of June to collect names of affected colleagues and their status. If you are affected and did not fill out the google form, please notify Sonja (president@usffa.net).