Faculty Staff Union

A pre-tenured tenure track member was informed that prior course releases granted upon hire fulfilled the terms of the Research Intensive Semester (RIS) guaranteed in Article 15.7.1 (the latter grants faculty a semester of teaching free work or two semesters with a single course load reduction). However, the member was hired at 3/3, rather than 2/2 (which is the current contractual norm for a full time load) and never actually received a teaching free semester nor a 1/1 academic year.

A tenure track member indicated that they have been mandated to perform a specific service job that they had not agreed to perform. The FSU Grievance Committee assessed the matter and noted that while Article 15 of the contract does require service, it does not speak to the specifics of service assignments. However, the Grievance Committee also noted that the practice at UMass Boston has been to allow faculty members to choose their own service work and not require specific service assignments.

 (see below for info from previous update) - Four female faculty members in a single department underwent promotional reviews in 2020-2021 (three for tenure and one for Professor). Following the promotions to tenure, the four filed a grievance alleging gender and race discrimination among several other violations of the collective bargaining agreement.