Topeka ? A battle within labor will be waged during the legislative session between classified workers at Kansas University and the largest public employee union in the state.

The KU Classified Senate, which represents about 1,500 state employees at the university, has voted to leave the state civil service system, which governs hiring and pay for state employees.

Leaders of the classified group have complained about the almost nonexistent pay raises for state employees approved by the Legislature in recent years.

Under the proposed system, KU classified workers, such as secretaries and maintenance employees, would retain benefits such as health insurance, vacation and a retirement plan, but their pay raises would be set by KU administrators instead of the Legislature.

“The civil service system is broken,” said Kathy Jensen, president of the KU Classified Senate.

She has urged approval of the new plan, which will be voted on Wednesday by the Kansas Board of Regents. If approved by the regents, it will then go to the Legislature for consideration.

But the Kansas Association of Public Employees said it would lobby hard to defeat the proposal, saying if KU classified workers abandoned the civil service system, the workers would be hurt in the long run.

Betty Vines, president of the state association, said the civil service system was designed to protect employees from capricious decisions by administrators and prevent a “spoils” system where state employees were hired based on their political connections.

“Someone could say, ‘I don’t like the way your hair is combed, so you’re out of here.’ Without civil service, that could happen,” Vines said.

Universities pin hopes on funding increases (1-11-04) Legislature may hear KU civil service plan (12-18-03) KU graduate teaching assistants protest ‘terrible’ health insurance (10-31-03)

Vines said the KU classified leaders were working against the best interest of ordinary workers.

But Jensen said, “That’s hooey.”

She said if her association had been able to get decent pay raises and benefits from the Legislature, the KU classified employees wouldn’t be trying to abandon the civil service system.

Vines said there were problems with the civil service system but added, “We don’t want to throw out the baby with the bath water.”

Jensen said classified employees at the other public universities were waiting to see how the proposal worked at KU before deciding whether to support it.

KU administrators have spoken in favor of the proposal. Lawmakers said they’ve been told that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius plans to stay neutral.