photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A member of the crowd at KU's State of the University speech is pictured on Oct. 16, 2025. The sign is urging KU to reach a contract deal with its faculty union.

KU management and the labor union representing its faculty members were scheduled to negotiate Thursday as the two parties near the date that KU has said it would seek to declare the negotiations at an impasse.

An update posted by the United Academics of KU — which represents about 1,500 faculty members as it seeks a first-time labor contract with the university — said negotiations are expected to resume at 2 p.m.

The update by UAKU said the union and negotiators for KU management had met into the evening on Wednesday. The union said good progress was made on reaching an agreement.

“Be assured that we believe we have a clear path to finishing a strong contract that will benefit faculty and academic staff,” UAKU said via a statement on its website.

KU management has not posted any such update on its website that provides updates of the negotiations. The last statement posted to KU’s website was from Feb. 26, when KU rejected a wage proposal from the union. KU countered with its own “last, best and final offer” on wages.

That proposal from KU could leave some faculty members receiving a wage increase as little as 1%, though KU leaders contend many faculty members will receive a greater increase — more than 10% in some cases — if their positions are deemed to be at wage levels that are below prevailing wages in the region for similar positions.

But the proposal from KU leaders did not provide a dollar amount that KU expected to provided in wage increases, and the proposal was only for one year. The union had been seeking at least a three-year agreement on wages.

“The University defines a fair contract as one that is sustainable, competitive with peer institutions over time, and consistent with KU’s obligation to maintain student access and affordability,” KU said in that Feb. 26 statement. “KU cannot responsibly commit to wage structures that would require ongoing tuition increases or compromise the quality of academic programs and student services.”

Details of what the two side are now discussing as it relates to wages weren’t provided in the published UAKU update.

On Feb. 26, KU had given UAKU seven days to either reject or accept its final wage offer. If the offer is rejected, KU said it would file a petition with the Kansas Public Employee Relations Board seeking that an impasse be declared in the labor negotiations. KU and the union have been negotiating on a first-time labor contract since mid-2024.

If the employee relations board grants the petition the impasse would require both sides to participate in mediated negotiating sessions. If those sessions don’t produce an agreement, state law could allow the Kansas Board of Regents — which is the governing authority for KU — to unilaterally approve a labor contract for KU faculty.

The seven-day period for UAKU to accept or reject KU’s proposal is scheduled to end Friday morning.