UFF Wins Landslide Victory at Florida State
More than 95 Percent of Faculty Vote for Union Representation

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Faculty at Florida State University (FSU) voted overwhelmingly this week to certify the United Faculty of Florida/AFT/NEA as the representative of professors and professional employees in contract negotiations with the university's board of trustees.

“We look forward to serving our new members and to reinvigorating the voice of these hard-working higher education professionals at both the state and national level,” said AFT vice president William Scheuerman, who heads up AFT’s Higher Education Program and Policy Council.

The Oct. 8 vote, conducted by the state's Public Employees Relations Commission, was 736 for the UFF and 33 for no agent. The unit includes more than 1,500 employees.

“This vote reaffirms the strong level of commitment to faculty voice that exists among faculty at FSU and throughout the state,” said Jack Fiorito, UFF's chapter president at FSU.  “Faculty give 110 percent effort day in and day out, but politicians and administrators often take them for granted. With UFF behind us, our needs and interests will be respected.”

The vote brings to 10 the number of UFF victories in as many campuses within the state’s public university system.  The union has been representing the employees for years, but Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature reorganized the state’s higher education system in 2002.  The move forced UFF chapters at each campus to seek recertification.

Seven of the 10 faculty chapters have won voluntary recognition by their respective boards of trustees.  Three more have won elections.  An election at the University of Florida—the 11th and final campus in the state’s system—is expected in the spring of 2004.

AFT represents over 125,000 higher education faculty and staff nationwide—more than any other union.  AFT represents over 10,000 faculty in Florida via its UFF affiliate.

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The AFT represents more than 1.3 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals and other school support employees, higher education faculty, nurses and other healthcare workers, and state and local government employees.