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Dear TT Faculty members,
The parties met for negotiation sessions on July 8 and July 15, 2026. During these sessions, the parties exchanged proposals on Article XXI: Distance Education and on Article XIV: Other Benefits. The parties also exchanged proposals for a Phased Retirement provision (KSUFA’s proposal is contained in its proposal for Article XIV, while the administration is insisting on creating a new article that would contain the provision on phased retirement). The parties aren’t scheduled to meet again until August 12.
Although the parties made progress toward reaching tentative agreement on Article XXI: Distance Education at the July sessions, KSUFA believes that the parties are farther apart on Article XIV: Other Benefits and on the provision for Phased Retirement after these sessions than we were before.
The administration engaged in what KSUFA considers regressive bargaining on a number of fronts. The administration’s most recent proposal for Article XIV deleted existing language in Section 2 relating to Faculty and dependent use of the Wellness Center that their proposals had previously included. (KSUFA is proposing making the Wellness Center free for Faculty.) Although they indicated a willingness to continue to talk about what might replace the existing language, they didn’t actually propose any such language. The administration’s most recent proposal for the provision on Phased Retirement contained a change in language that had been included in their initial proposal and subsequently accepted by KSUFA stating that the reduction in workload during phased retirement would come from a reduction in teaching load. Instead, they are now proposing that the reduction in workload could be achieved solely via a reduction in non-teaching workload equivalency.
The administration’s proposal on Article XIV: Other Benefits and related proposal on Phased Retirement were insulting in several other respects. The administration is refusing to agree to locate the provision concerning phased retirement in Article XIV: Other Benefits, even though phased retirement is clearly a non-medical benefit and the Article contains a number of other provisions concerning retirement. It makes absolutely no sense to have provisions relating to retirement spread out over multiple Articles. At the July 15 session, the administration made clear that the reason they want any provision on phased retirement to occur in a new Article is so that they can prevent the language from automatically applying to our NTT colleagues, who have a “me too” provision to our Article XIV in their CBA.
Meanwhile, the administration is refusing to accept language that would merely ensure that they review and explore the feasibility of implementing recommendations contained in the Childcare Report dated March 14, 2025 prepared by the Faculty members appointed to the Quality of Faculty Work/Life Committee in AY 2024-2025. The administration has continued to reject this language even after KSUFA explicitly noted on the record that it would be disrespectful to what is supposed to be a joint labor/management committee to not even consider the recommendations in its report.
KSUFA has created a section of our website (https://ksufa.org/index.php/tenure-track-unit/negotiations-2025) dedicated to the TT negotiations. This section contains links to all of the negotiation updates we have sent to our members and links to all proposals on all articles made by either party. 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.
Although the MOU extending the CBA expired 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
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