http://www.uff.ourusf.org/biweekly/Fall10.html#111610fsuFACULTY WIN IN FSU LAYOFF CASE
Twenty professors at Florida State University won back their jobs after an arbitrator ordered FSU to rescind layoffs of
tenured faculty. The November 5 ruling by Stanley H. Sergent, an attorney from Sarasota, came in response to legal
actions filed by the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) claiming the layoffs violated the union contract and should be
reversed.
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The faculty union, represented by UFF attorney Tom Brooks, successfully argued that "the University misapplied
the layoff article by targeting individual faculty in purely academic programs rather than taking a more traditional
objective approach that respected the importance of tenure. In short, the University abused the relatively broad
discretion it had under the layoff article to such an extent that the arbitrator felt compelled to intervene."
-snip-
Tom Auxter, statewide UFF president, stated that "in this economy, with budget cuts looming and without laws
effectively protecting tenure and academic freedom, the contract is all we have left to defend faculty against abuses
of power and violations of rights. The eyes of the nation have been on this case, and faculty across the nation can
now see how important collective bargaining is for the survival of the profession."
-snip-
Sherman Dorn, UFF USF chapter president, said, "This shows the value of union membership. If the grievants in
this case had to defend their jobs with outside lawyers, it would have cost them tens of thousands of dollars.
Because the United Faculty of Florida will use its resources for members, and state and national affiliates provide
support, it is essential that any faculty member in a state looking at substantial budget cuts in 2011-12 join her or his
union so the union can protect their rights in cases of layoffs."
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