Higher education in Florida is at a critical juncture: elected leaders continue to devote their efforts to undermining the ability of public sector unions to exist and advocate for their members, and higher education has received an additional layer of attacks.
Professors, graduate assistants, and librarians across the state’s colleges and universities have experienced an onslaught of attacks geared at undermining academic freedom, removing DEI initiatives from our campuses and attempting to dismantle the academy as we know it.
We have experienced the purging of whole fields of study from general course offerings, action being taken to regulate course content and censor diverse perspectives, the launching of investigations targeting trans students and employees, attacks on tenure, and bans on international collaborations with scholars in other countries deemed to be “of concern.” Critical research advancements are on the line, and the passionate members of UFF care about the integrity of thought and academic freedom independent of ideological forces intruding on academia. UFF will continue to grow and strengthen membership not only to survive and maintain our chapters but also to preserve the integrity of higher education in Florida.
With the implementation of SB 256, and now SB 1746, UFF and other public sector unions have been forced to enter a new normal that requires us all to organize! To survive, UFF must embrace an organizing mindset while continuing our work in bargaining, contract enforcement, arbitrations, and unfair labor practices.
UFF chapter members are actively participating in the work of keeping their chapters functioning and thriving. This organizing empowers members to make the changes they want to see at their respective institutions.
Being a union member spans race, ethnicity, gender, identity and political ideology, and connects members to their profession. Unions also allow for a better life, better healthcare and improve our members’ ability to do their jobs. So, as UFF, we will stand together around the issues that matter to our members and students, and ultimately, we will win.
A line in the song “Nina Cries Power” by singer-activist Hozier, featuring Mavis Staples, says, “It’s not the waking, it’s the rising.”
So, we reinforce our commitment to the hard work ahead and adjust to the reality of this new normal because, at UFF, we will rise to the challenges that come our way… together.
The faculty and graduate assistants who make up UFF will continue to advocate for all members of the higher education community in the face of extremist, authoritarian attacks from Florida’s executive and legislative branches. We will emerge stronger together for our members, the public good and the academy’s integrity.
Connect with the United Faculty of Florida online at myuff.org or on Facebook.
Teresa M. Hodge is an associate professor of mathematics at Broward College and UFF President. She began her union leadership journey in 2010 and was appointed UFF President in 2023.
Adela Z. Ghadimi, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of UFF. She began her union work as a three-term president of UFF-FSU-GAU and is committed to equity and inclusion in all her endeavors.
