|
Dear TT Faculty members,
After an unexpected six-week hiatus, the parties met for a fifth bargaining session on November 19th, 2025 (the parties last met on October 8th). There are only two more bargaining sessions scheduled (December 3rd and December 17th) before the end of the calendar year. We hope that the parties will agree on a regular schedule for bargaining sessions during the Spring semester before January.
While not making any formal proposals, the administration floated a “supposal” for discussion on phased retirement. KSUFA’s team was pleased to see that the administration is open to this idea and the discussion that followed was fruitful. Questions remain concerning the level of healthcare benefits faculty opting for a phased retirement would be able to receive. Once these questions are answered, we hope to see a full-blown proposal from the administration on this subject soon.
KSUFA made counter-proposals on Article V (Nondiscrimination) and Article X (Retrenchment). It is important to understand that, per SB 1, retrenchment is no longer an appropriate subject for collective bargaining. KSUFA accepts this and is simply seeking to incorporate what will be the new University Policy on Retrenchment into the CBA so that it is enforceable through the grievance process. Without such incorporation, the University could violate the provisions of the policy it ultimately adopts with impunity. Links to these proposals and to previous proposals made by either party as well as all of the negotiation updates we have sent to members can be found on the TT Negotiation section of our website. From our homepage (https://ksufa.org), you can find the link to the negotiation update both under the TT-Unit drop down menu at the top of the page or just below the Surviving SB 1 section of the homepage.
KSUFA team members are often asked how we think the negotiations are going. The answer is that, given the extremely slow pace, it is hard to tell how far apart the parties currently are on most issues. While we haven’t reached any formal tentative agreements (TAs) on any Article yet, we believe that we are close to reaching TAs on Article I (Definitions) and Article XXIII (Miscellaneous). Although KSUFA has yet to make its first proposal on Article III (Management Rights), we have reason to believe that reaching agreement on this article will be a challenge. (For more on that see our Negotiation update of November 5th.) A summary of each of the other Articles of the CBA opened by either party and not previously addressed follows:
-
Article IV (Academic Freedom and Professional Responsibility) was opened by the administration, but the administration has yet to make any proposal for this Article.
-
Article VI ( Governance) was opened by the administration, but the administration has yet to make any proposal for this Article.
-
Article VII (Grievance and Appeals Procedure) was opened by both parties. KSUFA made the first proposal on August 7th. Since then, the parties have exchanged counter-proposals with KSUFA making the most recent counter-proposal on October 8th.
-
Article VIII (Sanctions for Cause) was opened by the administration, but the administration has yet to make any proposal for this Article.
-
Article IX (Faculty Workload) was opened in its entirety by administration, but the administration has yet to make any proposal for this Article. (KSUFA had opened a single section of this Article in order to propose very minor changes, but is waiting for the administration to make an initial proposal on the whole Article.)
-
Article XI (Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment) was opened by both parties. KSUFA made the first proposal on September 10th, but the administration has yet to make a counter-proposal.
-
Article XII (Salary) was opened by both parties. Neither party has yet to make an initial proposal. (KSUFA is waiting for budget information requested on October 14th).
-
Article XIII (Medical Benefits) was opened by both parties. Neither party has yet to make an initial proposal. This week, KSUFA received information concerning medical costs initially requested on July 7th. It will take some time to analyze this data. KSUFA traditionally links its proposals on Salary and Medical Benefits and will hold off making a proposal on Article XIII until we are ready to make a proposal on Article XII.
-
Article XIV (Other Benefits) was opened by both parties. KSUFA made the first proposal on September 10th, but the administration has yet to make a counter-proposal. It is worth noting, however, that the supposal we received from the administration on phased retirement is a partial response to KSUFA’s initial proposal.
-
Article XV (Faculty Fitness for Duty) was opened by the administration, but the administration has yet to make any proposal for this Article.
-
Article XIX (Faculty Professional Development) was opened by both parties. KSUFA made the first proposal on September 10th, but the administration has yet to make a counter-proposal.
-
Article XX (Intellectual Property Rights) was opened by the administration, but the administration has yet to make any proposal for this Article.
-
Article XXI (Distance/Distributed Instruction) was opened by the administration, but the administration has yet to make any proposal for this Article.
-
Article XXIV (Duration and Negotiation Process) was opened by both parties. KSUFA made the first proposal on September 24th, but the administration has yet to make a counter-proposal.
Although the MOU extending the CBA expires on December 31, 2025, the provisions of the CBA will remain in full force and effect until a successor contract is ratified.
If you have any questions or concerns about negotiations, please don’t hesitate to contact me (dsmith@ksufa.org).
Sincerely,
Deborah Smith
President, KSUFA
Chief Negotiator, TT-Unit
| 
