Some staff at Wichita State could see an increase to their pay this coming fall after members of the WSU Local 6405 union, a union representing Wichita State’s maintenance and landscaping employees, voted on June 26 to ratify their new contract. Pay was just one subject the union addressed during its discussions regarding its contracts with the university. 

Before wages can be increased, the proposal will go to the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) for a vote. If approved, 150 returning Wichita State employees would earn at least $15.25 an hour.

Pay increases

The union vote was made after a plan was approved by the university in May, in which employees who are in the market-based compensation plan will be given a 1% pay increase across the board. This follows a cut made by Kansas legislators that changed a 5% pay increase for university employees to a 2.5% pay increase. 

“(In the memorandum of agreement), the university only wanted to give us 1%, so we bargained for 2%. And anybody that’s not making $15 an hour, we’ll get bumped up to that in December,” Steven Ricker, the president of WSU Local 6405, said. “The MOA that has to go to the Board of Regents, they’ll approve or not, we’re hoping that they approve.”

If approved by KBOR, new employees will receive $15.03 an hour while all  bargaining unit employees will see a 2% pay increase. The hourly wage will be increased to $15.25 an hour for those making below that amount. All other WSU employees will still see a 1% pay increase. 

Probationary period

Ricker explained that there were 19 topics that the union and the university needed to hash out. One of them was the probationary period, which is the first 30-90 days of starting a job when new hires are on their best behavior, not calling in sick or violating company policies.

Typically, employees are most commonly fired during the probationary period, but it is an older practice that the university has moved away from. According to Ricker, WSU wanted this period gone.

With the proposed change, WSU employees will receive all benefits from the contract they signed on day one of employment. 

Overtime benefits

The union and university worked out more overtime benefits so that employees have an option between overtime and compensation-time. 

Prior to the vote, employees had 50 hours of compensation time that they were paid for. Once employees hit those hours, they could not go over, and there was no overtime option. 

According to the university, when a non-exempt employee works more than 40 hours per workweek, it is considered overtime. The university does not allow non-exempt employees to work overtime without prior approval from leadership. 

The university also does not provide overtime pay or compensatory time to exempt employees and non-exempt employees will only be paid overtime pay if approved in advance by the employee’s budget officer. 

If the approval for overtime is not granted in advance, the employee will receive comp time. 

Retirement

Ricker explained that another major topic of negotiations was retirement among employees, which is divided into multiple tiers. 

“Being state of Kansas employees, we have different tiers of Kansas Public Employees Retire (KPERS),” Ricker said. “Tier one is anyone that’s been here (working) for over 20 years or so, and there’s tier two, which is not very good.”

Anyone who starts after the MOA is enacted will start on a new retirement plan which has slight improvements in benefits from KPERS tier two which gives benefits to employees hired after July 1, 2009.

Most of these contract alterations will go into effect at the start of the fall semester. While Ricker is confident that KBOR will accept the proposed changes relating to increases in pay, the vote will likely be held either later this month or early August.