photo by: University of Kansas

The skyline of the University of Kansas is pictured.

Many maintenance workers at the University of Kansas are set to get a 4% raise, and some may get more as KU works to bring wages closer to what the private sector pays.

The Kansas Board of Regents on Wednesday is expected to approve a new contract between KU and the local chapter of the Laborers International Union of America. The proposed contract

sets new minimum wage levels for the 290 positions covered by the contract. Those pay ranges were created after KU conducted a study of what similar employees in the private sector earn.

As part of the agreement between KU and the union, KU will bring any worker who is below the new minimum up to that amount, regardless of how large of a percentage increase is required. For workers who already make more than the new minimum, they will receive a 4% wage increase, according to a memo provided to the Regents.

According to the memo, it actually was KU executives — not the union — who sought to reopen the contract and adjust wages. KU leaders have said they are worried that the university has many positions that are below “market rate” pay, and specifically have highlighted maintenance, landscape, custodian and other similar positions.

In May 2024, as the Journal-World reported, KU estimated that it had about a $27 million wage gap. At the time, KU officials said the estimate was derived from a study that compares what a KU employee makes versus what a similar employee in the Lawrence private sector earns.

“There’s a significant number of people below the 25th percentile, meaning they are well below where they need to be,” Jeff DeWitt, KU’s chief financial officer, said at the time of many staff positions.

KU leaders in April notified the union that it wanted to reopen the contract to discuss wages. KU and the union met for approximately a year, and the union ratified the changes in September. Approval by the Board of Regents is the final step in implementing the new contract.

According to the memo, the new wage rates will result in increased pay of $604,000 spread amongst the 290 employees covered by the contract.

KU has been making budget cuts in other areas of the university, and expects to free up millions of dollars to fund pay increases in future years. KU officials earlier this year announced that departments across the Lawrence and Edwards campuses will need to find $32 million in annual budget savings by July 1.

KU Chancellor Douglas Girod, who often tells crowds that the pay gap is the biggest issue facing the university, has said more than half of the $32 million in savings will be invested in improvements to KU’s pay plan.

Exactly how large those pay adjustments will be and what positions will receive them, however, isn’t clear. KU is in negotiations with a new union that represents KU faculty members. In April 2024, faculty members, with more than 85% approval, voted to form a union to represent about 1,500 professors and other faculty members.

The union — United Academics of the University of Kansas — and KU continue to negotiate on a first contract. Union members in recent months have become more vocal in how long the contract negotiations are taking. It has become common for union members to hold signs or pass out brochures at events where Girod is speaking. Signs supporting UAKU also have begun showing up in the windows of several businesses downtown and elsewhere. A petition drive that urges KU leaders to “listen to their faculty and academic staff, not outside consultants” also is circulating.

Through updates that UAKU shares publicly on its website, the two parties have reached tentative agreement on several topics, including non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, facility/equipment requirements, and academic freedom and responsibilities, among other topics.

However, an update UAKU provided earlier this month — following a KU counter-proposal — made clear that the two parties remain far apart on compensation issues.

“It is outrageous that KU management rakes in their raises while faculty and staff get left behind time and again,” a Nov. 5 update shared with UAKU members reads. “Fair compensation reflects KU management’s priorities and what they value. This counter-proposal is beyond disrespectful of faculty and academic staff.”

KU officials have generally declined to comment on any specifics of the negotiations.

“University of Kansas leaders welcome continued conversations with faculty and instructors about ways to move the university forward,” KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said via email on Tuesday.

When an agreement may be reached is unclear. According to a chart listed on the UAKU website, the parties have reached tentative agreements on 18 contract issues. However, the chart lists 26 other contract issues that have not yet been resolved, including major issues such as compensation, workload, promotion and tenure, union rights, and management rights, among other issues.