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University of Kansas faculty members have unionized, in an 850-to-132 vote.
The new United Academics of the University of Kansas (UAKU), affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Association of University Professors, will represent a broad swath of faculty members, the AFT announced Thursday in a news release. That includes full- and part-time, tenured and nontenure-track professors, lecturers, librarians and curators, the AFT said.
Kate DeJarnette, a clinical assistant professor in the university’s speech-language-hearing department, said in the release that “faculty and academic staff are coming together to fight for a better KU, and today, we voted resoundingly to have our voices heard on the critical issues facing our university.” The AFT said faculty members have expressed a need for better wages and job security, along with fixing “unkept classrooms and buildings.”
The release said a month of mail-in voting led up to Thursday’s vote count. The Kansas Department of Labor confirmed the results and the union’s formation to Inside Higher Ed.
In an email, a university spokesperson said “the provost looks forward to working with the new union—and with all faculty, staff and students—on initiatives to advance KU’s mission of education, service and research. We are grateful to the many Lawrence campus faculty who share our goal to make KU the best place it can be.”
