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.

During fall 2024 through spring 2026, UAKU and KU Administration held 60 negotiation sessions, leading to a tentative agreement on all 37 articles of the collective bargaining agreement on March 5, 2026. On April 20, 2026, the first Collective Bargaining Agreement between the University of Kansas and the United Academics of KU (UAKU) was ratified and recognized by the Kansas Board of Regents. The agreement is effective from April 15, 2026, through April 15, 2029.

Ongoing discussions continue on specific topics: director title and intellectual property. Bargaining on compensation has been reopened for calendar years 2027 and 2028 per Article 20 of the agreement. Once agreements have been on these topics, they will be added to the Collective Bargaining Communications and Documentation page.  

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.

With limited exceptions as described below, UAKU represents all faculty and unclassified academic staff with academic or research responsibilities, whether tenure track or non-tenure track, full time or part-time. The following faculty and unclassified academic staff title series are all covered by UAKU: 

• Tenure line professors- all ranks 
• Tenure line librarians- all ranks 
• Teaching professors- all ranks 
• Professors of practice- all ranks 
• Clinical professors- all ranks 
• Research professors- all ranks 
• Scientists- all ranks 
• Curators- all ranks 
• Specialists- all ranks 
• Lecturers- senior, university, online, all term (single or multi), APA 
• Instructors
• Visiting professors- all ranks 

Of the employees who fall within these titles, some may be excluded due to their supervisory or managerial responsibilities. Pursuant to the May 3, 2024 PERB Order, the following are excluded from the unit: supervisory employees as defined by K.S.A. 75-4322(b), elected and management officials as defined by K.S.A. 75-4322( e), and confidential employees as defined by K.S.A. 75-4322(c). 

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.

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 is 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.

The contract establishes several compensation provisions:

Base salary minimums
The contract sets minimum salary floors by rank and title series (e.g., Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Teaching Professor, etc.) and guarantees minimum salary increases upon promotion.

Merit pay framework
The contract does not guarantee annual merit raises, but it creates a process for distributing merit pay whenever funds are available. Units must maintain transparent merit formulas and use annual evaluations as the basis for merit decisions. 

Across-the-board increases
The agreement provides an initial 1% increase for many covered employees in 2026 and allows the university to implement future across-the-board increases with notice to the union.

Additional compensation
The contract preserves the ability to receive:

• Summer salary
• Administrative supplements
• Professorship stipends
• Overload pay
• Retention raises
• Other approved additional compensation

These are separate from base salary.

Wage reopener
Compensation is specifically reopened for bargaining in 2027 and 2028, meaning salary provisions are not locked for the full contract term.

The contract does not impose a university-wide workload percentage formula (e.g., 40/40/20 or 50/30/20). Instead:

• Each academic unit must create written workload guidelines.
• Units must specify standard allocations of effort and allowable ranges.
• Workload policies must be developed through unit governance processes and approved by the Dean and Provost.
• Workload assignments must align with position descriptions and unit workload guidelines.
• Variations in workload are permitted through established processes.

The contract creates procedural requirements and transparency requirements around workload, but generally leaves the actual percentages to unit-level policies.

A grievance occurs when there is a dispute over the interpretation or application of the contract and follows the following steps: 

The university continues to be able to make employee-specific wage increases to manage the risk of turnover and/or to be competitive in retention offers in order to not lose high-quality bargaining unit members. This process has not changed.