Article 14

USE OF FACILITIES

14.1 University Facilities. UFF-GAU shall have the right to use University facilities for meetings and all other services on the same basis as they are generally available to other University-related organizations. University-related organizations are defined as follows;

University-related Groups and Organizations. Those groups and organizations may or may not receive budgetary support. Examples of such groups include: student organizations, honor societies, fraternities, sororities, alumni associations, faculty committees, career service staff council, direct support organizations, the United Faculty of Florida, etc.

14.2 Bulletin Boards. UFF-GAU may post bulletins and notices relevant to its position as the collective bargaining representative of the employees on one (1) bulletin board in each department in which employees work. The University shall notify the UFF-GAU of the location of said bulletin boards by the first day of class in the Fall Semester. Materials placed on designated bulletin boards may not be used for election campaigns for public office or for exclusive representation campaigns. The University shall provide UFF-GAU an entry on the website listings of the main UF web page.

14.3 UFF-GAU Leaves of Absence.

(a) At the request of UFF-GAU in writing, leaves of absence of at least one (1) semester shall be considered to a maximum of six (6) employees designated by UFF-GAU for the purpose of carrying out UFF-GAU's obligation in representing employees and administering this Agreement. Such leave shall be for the employee's FTE rate, i.e., .5 FTE, .33 FTE, etc.
(b) No more than one (1) employee from a single department need be given such leave.
(c) UFF-GAU shall reimburse the University for the employee's salary and other benefits.
(d) The employee shall have all other rights of employees and shall receive the average salary increase granted to other members of the bargaining unit at that University.
(e) The University or the UFBOT shall not be liable for the acts or omissions of said employees in furtherance of union activity during the leave, and UFF-GAU shall hold the University harmless for any such acts or omissions.
(f) An employee on such leave shall not be evaluated for this activity.
(g) UFF-GAU shall transmit requests for such leave to the University President no later than June 1 for leaves in the Fall Semester and no later than October 20 for leaves in the Spring Semester.

14.4 Released Time.

(a)The University agrees to provide up to 1.0 FTE units of released time per semester during the academic year and 1.0 FTE units of released time to be divided between Summer A and Summer B, to employees designated by the UFF-GAU for the purpose of carrying out the UFF-GAU's obligations in representing employees to receive released time during the academic year, subject to the following conditions:

(1) No more than one employee per department may be granted released time at any one time. For departments with more than one hundred (100) graduate assistants, a second employee may be granted released time with the approval of the chair/director.
(2) No employee shall be granted more than .33 FTE released time per semester or summer term.
(3) An employee is eligible for only two released time appointments (including summer) during a two-year period. The two-year period shall begin at the start of the first released time appointment.
(4) The UFF-GAU shall provide the University with a list of requested designees for the academic year no later than 30 days prior to the first day of the academic appointment, if practicable. The list will indicate each employee's requested FTE for released time.
(5) Employees on released time must remain students in good standing at the University during their released time appointment.

(b) Released time shall be used for conducting University-related UFF-GAU business, at the university or State level, and shall not be used for lobbying or other political representation. Leave for lobbying or other political representation may be purchased by the UFF-GAU pursuant to Section 14.3.
(c) Upon the failure of the UFF-GAU to provide a list of designees by the specified deadlines, the University may refuse to honor any of the released time requests which were submitted late. Substitutions submitted after the deadlines in Section 14.4(a)(4) shall be allowed at the discretion of the University.
(d) Employees on released time shall be eligible for stipend increases on the same basis as other employees, but their released time activities shall not be evaluated nor taken into consideration by the University in making personnel decisions.
(e) Employees on released time shall retain all rights and responsibilities as employees, but shall not be considered representatives or agents of the University or UBOT for any activities undertaken on behalf of the UFF-GAU. The UFF-GAU agrees to hold the University and the UBOT harmless for any claims arising from such activities, including the cost of defending against such claims.