The faculty union declared a deadlock Friday in contract negotiations with UF over issues such as salaries and sabbaticals.
Union members argued UF is refusing to compromise and isn't taking negotiations seriously.
They argued that UF's salaries are in the bottom 10 percent of institutions in the Association of American Universities, a group of top research schools, and that UF is claiming it doesn't have the money to raise them, even though it plans to spend money on other initiatives, such as $12 million on a study center for students and $10 million on hiring up to 100 new faculty next year.
"The data shows that the president and the trustees have the money, they just don't want to spend it on current faculty," said Chris Snodgrass, head of the union's bargaining unit.
UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes declined to answer questions and said others involved are not authorized to comment. Sikes released a statement explaining UF's position.
"We understand that the budget situation has been difficult, and we still face many challenges," the statement reads.
"Nevertheless, we have a $16 million recurring budget gap to fill and we need to address it. Regardless of the union-declared impasse, we will continue to negotiate with the union in good faith, and our ultimate goal continues to be reaching a satisfactory agreement."
But Snodgrass said UF's negotiators aren't playing fair. They cancel meetings, end them early and decide not to honor agreements they've already signed, he said.
"They keep taking steps to make it impossible to finish," he said. The negotiations have labored on for four years now, with no agreement in sight, he said.
The impasse comes as UF is proposing to end a program that converts unused sick leave to cash when faculty leave UF. Faculty expressed their concerns about ending the program at Thursday's Faculty Senate meeting.
Snodgrass said the other issues that led to Friday's impasse include UF's unwillingness to allow faculty to take research sabbaticals.
UF currently allows semester-long sabbaticals and wants to cut down on them, while the union wants year-long sabbaticals every seven years, like other universities, he said.
"Some faculty that have been here 20, 30 years and have never had a sabbatical," he said.
Another issue involves intellectual property. The union says UF wants to be able to force faculty to produce online course content and other materials, which will be owned by UF. The union says faculty shouldn't be forced to produce content they will not even own the rights to.
Tom Auxter, first vice president of the union, said the main issue is salary compression. Faculty are hired at market rates and then are not given raises over time to keep their salaries in line with other universities.
"You end up being unable to meet life's expenses and take care of the development of your career," Auxter said.
