UF COVID-19 Letter Campaign

I am writing to demand UF take responsibility for placing our community at risk by reopening for the sake of profit and politics. Covid surges after Memorial Day weekend have proved what we already knew: there is no way to have an in-person college experience during Covid-19. UF must create a plan which puts students’ and workers’ lives first, rather than doing nothing and blaming students while Covid-19 numbers rise. Taking accountability starts by supporting students in returning home as soon as possible, and offering adequate and realistic accommodations for those who cannot return home safely.

Alongside a return to entirely remote learning, we demand worker-first policies for the duration of the Covid-19 emergency. UF workers need fair protection, including employer provided PPE for in-person workplaces, a default policy of working from home for every possible employee, position and department, universal paid sick leave, and employer provided health care. These are the minimum accommodations UF must grant; without these, it is unsafe for anyone to work, learn, or live at UF.

The financial burden of Covid-19 impacts must not fall on UF employees. At minimum, UF must “cut from the top” and demonstrate that unrestricted endowment funds have been used and pay cuts have been enacted for the highest paid University administrators making more than $100,000 per year, before furloughing lower-paid workers who keep UF running. UF cannot survive without cleaners, maintenance workers, administrative professionals, professors, not least adjunct professors, and graduate assistants; the University works because we do. Kent Fuchs alone makes nearly a million dollars every year. For families fighting to survive a pandemic, this is an unimaginable sum. We must expect sacrifices from those who can most afford them, not the working people who are already most affected by this pandemic.

In his address at the beginning of the year, Kent Fuchs said he would make “unfair and audacious” demands that this year be the best ever. We are responding with fair and reasonable demands, to keep students, workers, and communities safe. There is still time to reverse course and save lives, but the University must act now.

Regards,