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Dear TT Faculty members,
When I updated you after our October 9, 2026 bargaining session, I wrote:
“The parties are scheduled to meet again on October 23. KSUFA is not confident that the administration will be prepared to make counter-proposals on any of the remaining Articles at that time. Whether or not the administration will have counter-proposals on Article XII: Salary and Article XIII: Medical Benefits at the October 23 session will reveal whether they are serious about reaching agreement on those Articles or intend to continue to unnecessarily drag out these negotiations in the hope of weakening the faculty union.”
As it turns out, our lack of confidence on this score was well-founded. On October 21, Kevin West, Chief Negotiator for the administration team, notified me that the administration would have no proposals to make at the October 23 session. Since all of the remaining articles are on the administration’s side of the table, the session was cancelled by mutual agreement. The parties are not scheduled to meet again until November 16.
It is now almost impossible to avoid the conclusion that the administration is intentionally dragging out these negotiations in the hope of weakening our union.
After nearly a year and a half of negotiations, there are still nine articles on which the parties have not reached Tentative Agreement (TA). As we have communicated previously, the parties are at absolute impasse on five of these nine Articles:
- Article III: Management Rights;
- Article VII: Grievance and Appeals Process;
- Article IX: Faculty Workload;
- Article XI: Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment; and
- Article XIX: Faculty Professional Development.
KSUFA’s team clearly communicated our position with respect to the union- and Faculty Senate-busting provisions contained in these Articles in a statement read into the record at the September 25, 2026 bargaining session.
KSUFA believes that TA may be possible on the remaining four Articles:
- Article XII: Salary;
- Article XIII Medical Benefits;
- Article XIV: Other Benefits; and
- Article XXIV: Duration and Negotiation Procedure.
However, TA on these Articles is only possible if the administration is willing and able to put counter-proposals on the table.
As we reported previously, the administration has made only a single proposal on each of Articles XII, XIII, and XXIV over the entire 16 months of negotiations. The administration waited until September 11, 2026 to make its initial proposal on Article XXIV. To date, the administration has been unable or unwilling to make formal counters to KSUFA’s proposals on Article XII: Salary and Article XIII: Medical Benefits of August 12.
In related news, the Board of Trustees ratified the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on retroactive cost of living raises for AYs 25/26 and 26/27 and phased retirement on October 23. We are pleased that the University will now be able to realize much needed cost saving measures in the form of a phased retirement option for faculty beginning Spring 2027. We regret that, due to the administration’s go-slow approach to negotiations, they were unable to realize these cost savings beginning in Fall 2026. We are also pleased that the administration will no longer be able to hold our raises hostage to their go-slow approach to negotiations. However, we are frustrated that nothing in the MOU prevents the administration from dragging out negotiations on the four articles on which TA may be possible or delaying conciliation on the five articles on which we are at impasse.
It will be necessary for us to keep the pressure on by continuing to engage in collective actions and voting overwhelmingly in the upcoming No Confidence vote.
KSUFA has created a section of our website 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. 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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