To say USF faculty and staff deserve livable wages shouldn’t be a “hot take.”

In October, in-unit faculty, or those who are part of the union, saw a 3% raise on their paychecks, even though the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) initially called for a 7-9% minimum pay increase for employees.

Karin Braunsberger, UFF’s chief negotiator, said the 3% that showed up in Friday’s paycheck was actually something UFF bargained for during the last contract with USF.

“We need to have higher salary increases,” Braunsberger said. “We will not back down.” 

Current wages at USF send the wrong message to educators: they are undervalued. For USF to meet UFF’s demands would be a true investment in education.

Related: USF faculty gets a 3% raise but will continue fighting for more

The average annual salary of USF faculty is $71,300. In major U.S. cities like Tampa Bay, the liveable wage for a single person is $94,000, according to a 2024 study from SmartAsset. For parents, the cost of living is even more expensive. 

Meaning, there is a huge disparity in what faculty is being paid and what they need to live comfortably in Tampa. 

“Looking at what the economy has done to our purchasing power, the 3% raise that showed up on Friday’s paycheck is still not enough,” Braunsberger said. 

In comparison to other state universities, the average salary of USF faculty is considerably lower.

The University of Florida has an average salary of $89,000, while the University of Central Florida has an average salary of $71,700. 

Survey data provided to The Oracle by USF’s chapter of UFF shows 67 out of 136 members of faculty said salary is the issue that is most likely to cause them to leave USF.

Related: USF faculty struggle to secure pay increases as Law is recommended for $282K raise

This should be incentive enough for USF to raise wages to meet UFF’s initial proposal.

“We’ve definitely seen people going to greener grasses, where they get more money,” Braunsberger said. 

Do we really want to risk losing our faculty and staff to other state schools? 

The U.S. News and World Reports ranked USF as one of the top 50 public universities. Last year, USF joined the Association of American Universities (AAU,) a group of the nation’s leading research universities. 

As a leading institution in academics or research, USF shouldn’t even let income be a concern weighing on the minds of faculty. Faculty shouldn’t have to miraculously find the means of comfortable living in a city facing rapid inflation.

Related: USF, don’t value pocket change more than your employees

In September, USF president Rhea Law received a 30% raise. Law’s base salary now sits at $825,000. The raise is meant to bring Law’s salary closer to other university presidents in Florida, including University of Central Florida President Alexander Cartwright. 

Clearly, USF wants to excel in their reputation as an excelling school that offers competitive wages. Offering hardworking faculty a measly 3% raise in insulting to those who have been working for the university for years.

Bonuses and raises do come regularly for faculty. USF previously provided faculty with a bonus of $2,000 as a one-time payment in addition to a 3.5% raise in August 2022. Faculty also received a 2% increase in 2023, according to USF spokesperson Althea Johnson.

Regardless of how often faculty receive these pay increases, USF still has allowed the paychecks of our faculty to fall short in comparison to the wages at other state universities.

Braunsberger said UFF is currently working on a new proposal that will be put on the table Nov. 15. 

If USF wants to ensure student success, it should start with keeping our educators and faculty happy. No one is happy earning measly, non-competitive wages.