State College of Florida faculty allege college is delaying union vote

State College of Florida faculty who are in the process of unionizing are accusing the college of stalling on signing an agreement that would allow the new union to elect its officers and begin bargaining with school administration.

On Wednesday, Courtney Ruffner Grieneisen, an SCF literature professor and president of the college's chapter of American Association of University Professors, sent a letter to SCF President Carol Probstfeld asking her to explain the delay. Ruffner Grieneisen alleges that attorneys representing the college have failed to sign off on an agreement between SCF and union body United Faculty of Florida, eliminating the possibility that officer elections could be held this spring.

The parties have since renegotiated election terms and have pushed the election into late August. However, Ruffner Grieneisen said she is concerned the delays are an attempt to build an anti-union campaign on campus.

The move to unionize came days after a Jan. 26 meeting of the college’s board of trustees during which trustees voted 8-0 to cease offering continuing contracts, commonly known as tenure, to new faculty.

Ruffner Grieneisen and 81 other faculty members signed union cards in early February and had them delivered to the Florida Public Employees Relations Committee. PERC is a state office typically responsible for certifying public employee unions. The number of signed cards was just over the two-thirds of the 120 SCF faculty members needed to agree to unionize, according to state rules.

In her letter, Ruffner Grieneisen details a three-month timeline of negotiations between UFF and SCF attorneys. The two sides agreed in March to forgo a PERC hearing that would have determined the new union’s existence. Instead, they chose to sign an agreement under which the union would be able to hold its election and start representing faculty.

Since then, the college’s attorney has failed to sign the agreement on three agreed-upon occasions, Ruffner Grieneisen said. The most recent such incident was on May 11.

Jamie M. Smith, SCF communications director, said in a statement Wednesday the formation of a faculty union at the college “requires time and due deliberation as we complete each step.”

“As State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota’s faculty contemplate forming a union, SCF’s administration is carefully considering and evaluating all aspects and implications of the broad sweeping impact the union could have on our culture, communications and relationships as a college community,” she said.

The two sides currently have a verbal agreement that would start union elections on Aug. 29.

The school is represented by the Tampa law firm Allen, Norton & Blue. Ruffner Grieneisen said that as of late April, SCF had paid the firm $8,850 to represent it on union matters. The information came from a public records request filed by UFF.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "State College of Florida faculty allege college is delaying union vote."