FAQs about Faculty Collective Bargaining

A union is an organization that serves as the exclusive bargaining representative for a group of employees for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment, such as pay, benefits and working conditions. The negotiation process is known as “collective bargaining.”

UAKU stands for United Academics of the University of Kansas and is an organization composed of KU faculty and academic staff with academic or research job responsibilities who have formed a union. UAKU has announced its affiliation with two national labor organizations, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the AFT’s affiliate, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).

Prior to a vote being held on whether faculty and academic staff would be represented by UAKU, the State Board which oversees public sector bargaining in the State of Kansas – the Kansas Public Employer-Employee Relations Board (PERB) – determined that the appropriate bargaining unit which could be represented by UAKU in labor negotiations included faculty and unclassified academic staff with academic or research responsibilities, whether tenure track or non-tenure track, full or part time. Of the employees who fall within this definition, some may be excluded due to their supervisory or managerial responsibilities. A bargaining unit representation election was conducted by PERB in Spring 2024.  PERB determined that there were 1,551 eligible voters in the bargaining unit.  Of these eligible voters, 982 cast valid ballots, of which 850 voted for representation by UAKU, which represented a majority of votes cast.

The state public bargaining law (PEERA) requires employers and recognized unions to bargain with respect to salaries, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment – concepts referred to as “mandatory subjects of bargaining.”  UAKU, as the recognized faculty and academic staff union at KU, is the exclusive bargaining representative for the employees within the bargaining unit for the purpose of negotiating such conditions of employment.  This means that UAKU has the exclusive right and authority to negotiate with University administration relative to conditions of employment for all employees within the bargaining unit.  When a union is certified by PERB as the exclusive bargaining representative, the bargaining must be between the employer and the union, not between the employer and individual employees represented by the union.

The University and the Union are required to meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. Neither the University nor the Union has to agree to any specific proposal or make any specific concession, but both parties must engage in genuine efforts to reach an agreement. If an agreement cannot be reached, statutory impasse procedures, including mediation and fact-finding, may be required.

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Representatives from the University and the Union (“bargaining teams”) meet to negotiate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. Both sides discuss contract-related issues during these negotiations and present proposals and counterproposals. State law requires that both sides engage in good-faith negotiations to try to resolve any differences and work to reach an agreement in a timely manner.  By State law, the Kansas Board of Regents is the employer of all employees within the bargaining unit.  Accordingly, KBOR must approve those terms and conditions negotiated between the University and Union teams.

Following the unionization vote in Spring 2024, the University and UAKU initiated collective bargaining negotiations to attempt to arrive at targeted wage actions for FY2025.  Following the recognition, the parties were required to negotiate these wage actions as compensation is a mandatory subject of bargaining.  As you have been informed from prior communications, the parties were successful in negotiating partial wage actions which have been implemented for this fiscal and academic year.  This was a targeted negotiation relating to the subject of FY25 wage actions and did not address the numerous other conditions of employment which are properly included within the scope of a comprehensive collective bargaining agreement.  The MOU also leaves open the possibility of further wage actions for FY2025 should the parties agree to such actions.

The parties have now commenced negotiations to attempt to arrive at their first comprehensive collective bargaining agreement covering all conditions of employment for the members of the bargaining unit. The negotiation process for first labor contracts typically lasts a year or longer. A 2021 analysis conducted and published by Bloomberg Law [https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberg-law-analysis/analysis-how-long-…] found that first contracts took an average of 409 days to negotiate. The parties have already agreed and calendared numerous collective bargaining sessions throughout the Fall semester.

UAKU is now the exclusive, designated bargaining representative with the University relating to conditions of employment.  Accordingly, if you are a member of the bargaining unit, you should direct your inquiries to UAKU and their representatives.  

For faculty supervisors, the main points of contact on questions about managing within a collective bargaining context are:

Amy Mendenhall, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Professor of Social Welfare 

Angie Loving, Vice Chancellor, Human Resources 

Dues are the fees that members pay to belong in a union. A union’s primary source of revenue is collecting dues from members. Unions charge dues to their members to fund the operations of the union. Dues can range in amount. United Academics of the University of Kansas (UAKU) indicates that the exact amount of union dues will be determined through a vote of the membership. For further information regarding dues, you should contact UAKU.

Kansas is a right to work state, therefore, you cannot be compelled to join the union and pay dues even though UAKU has been certified as the bargaining representative for the employees within the bargaining unit.  If you are considering joining the union and you have questions relating to the rights of dues paying members vs. non-dues paying members of the bargaining unit, you should contact UAKU.

UAKU will be the exclusive voice to the University, for all faculty and academic staff that it represents, relating to conditions of employment—issues such as grievance rights, pay, benefits and other mandatory subjects of bargaining. Both parties have expressed an interest for continued input from the Faculty Senate as part of shared governance, however, to the extent that Faculty Senate has in the past handled issues which significantly relate to any mandatory subjects of bargaining, the University is required to address such matters through collective bargaining with the Union.