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Friday, March 29, 2024
Student Government SG Generic
Student Government SG Generic

The UF Student Government Senate Judiciary Standing Committee unanimously passed seven resolutions and failed one amendment Sunday.

The resolutions will be taken for a vote by the Senate on Tuesday.

Two resolutions in support of UF’s Other Personnel Service, or OPS, workers were passed after an earlier Senate meeting in February, when members and supporters of the Alachua County Labor Coalition spoke on behalf of the workers.

Currently, OPS workers are paid by the hour and are not given benefits. During UF’s emergency closures, like Hurricane Irma, the workers were not compensated for the forced time off.

One resolution called for UF’s human resources department to create a system of paid administrative leave, or a similar policy, so OPS workers could make up hours in case of future emergency closures.

The second resolution would ask UF’s human resources department to reclassify OPS workers who have been in their position for more than a year as Technical, Executive, Administrative and Managerial Support employees, which would allow them to receive benefits.

Timothy Tia, a UF economics senior, said OPS workers are critical to helping UF function efficiently.

“These resolutions are important because UF workers are just as much a part of the university as the students,” the 21-year-old said. “Hopefully it will let administration and HR know people care about OPS workers and put a higher priority on their issues.”

The meeting’s only failed legislation was a second attempt to increase the representation of minority parties in Senate committees. In early February, Senator Olin Calvin tried to pass an amendment that would limit the amount of committees senators can serve on from two to one, according to Alligator archives. The newly presented amendment would have required a quota for minority parties and independent candidates on committees.

Minority Party Leader Nathan Morse said he and other Inspire Party members are planning on submitting another amendment to the committee.

“Committee seats ought to reflect what the students want,” he said. “The Judiciary Committee’s decision is essentially shutting out representatives that the Student Body thinks should be there.”

Senator Jonathan Nickas (Accounting, Impact) said the amendment failed to pass because it would interfere with the Replacement and Agenda Committee’s ability to choose the most qualified candidates.

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“I’d love to see some people from the other parties get more involved in the committees, so not just applying for the committees but getting a good background in them,” said Nickas, who also serves as vice chairman of the committee.

Contact Christina Morales at cmorales@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @Christina_M18.

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