Union wins UF workers bigger annual raise

Union wins UF workers bigger annual raise
October 1999

The union representing 6,000 University of Florida USPS staff, once again negotiated a significant annual raise in their contract, according to AFSCME 3340 president Sharon Bauer.

Bauer said that while many workers are not aware that it was the union that won it, all USPS staff will receive at least a thousand dollar raise this year. Governor Jeb Bush had wanted to limit the raise to 2.8%. Under Bush's proposal the average USPS staff worker, who makes $25,000, would only get a $700 raise (equivalent to the annual raise in 1995!) Workers making the minimum of $12,500 would only get an annual raise of $350 dollars. But the union was able to win all workers a $1,000 minimum raise.

AFSCME 3340, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, represents office workers, physical plant and janitorial staff, and many other non-management job categories at the University of Florida.

OPS employees at the University are not covered under the union contract, but AFSCME, which represents most state workers around Florida, filed suit last August objecting to the widespread use of the "temporary" OPS job category. Forty thousand workers around the state are working OPS, an acronym which stands for Other Personnel Services.

One in four people working for state government is currently working in the OPS job category. OPS workers receive no health or pension benefits, have no job security, and get no sick leave or paid holidays, even though many work 40 hours a week.

AFSCME asked in the suit that any OPS employee working in the same job for four months be offered a permanent position.