About Us

All you need to do to join is fill out a membership form!

If you have any questions, reach out to us at kunanurses@gmail.com or call the AFT-Kansas office at 785-235-0262.

Any KU Nurses Association officer or Clinical Representative can answer your questions. The easiest way to reach them is to send an email to kunanurses@gmail.com. 

If you are being called into a disciplinary or investigative meeting with your supervisor and would like representation as per your Weingarten rights, email kunanurses@gmail.com or call the AFT-Kansas office at 785-235-0262.

The "contract," as it is sometimes called, between KU Nurses Association and the Hospital, is officially known as the Memorandum of Agreement.  This agreement is negotiated every three years, and it sets standards and minimums for all nurses in the bargaining unit.  Any other contracts or policies the Hospital establishes must be in accordance with the KU Nurses Association Memorandum.  Look for the KU Nurses Association MOA under "Resources" on the home page. 

KU Nurses Association's contract with the Hospital (also called the Memorandum of Agreement) covers Entry RNs, CNIs, CNIIs, LPNs, and Senior LPNs.  These employees make up what is called KU Nurses Association's "bargaining unit." 

However, any nurse at the Hospital can be a KU Nurses Association member and receive the membership benefits, insurance, and KU Nurses Association representation in workplace disputes or disciplinary actions.  The Hospital sometimes tells people they are "not in a covered position," this does NOT mean they can not be KU Nurses Association members.

Though all nurses at KU receive the benefits of KU Nurses Association's contract regardless of membership status, becoming a member provides a much greater level of support and input.  Only KU Nurses Association members can elect officers, vote to ratify an agreement or contract, participate in meetings with management, sit on committees or the negotiating team, or otherwise direct KU Nurses Association's goals and priorities. 

Though KU Nurses Association represents all bargaining unit employees when the contract is violated, it is only empowered to represent KU Nurses Association members in individual grievances or disputes. 

KU Nurses Association membership also comes with a number of benefits, including free life insurance for your first year of membership, $1 million in malpractice coverage, workplace violence insurance, a free subscription to KU Nurses Association's newsletter, and discounted rates on things like Southwest Airlines flights, AT&T phone lines, health insurance, pet insurance, hotels, rental cars, flowers, books, health club memberships, and more!  (Click here to read more about member benefits.)

Finally, KU Nurses Association's influence with the Hospital and its ability to improve your workplace are dependent on membership strength.  The Hospital takes us more seriously the more united--and protected--we are.  KU Nurses Association renegotiates its contract with the Hospital every three years, and the stronger we become, the more we can achieve--not just for ourselves and our families, but for our patients, and the Kansas City community.

KU Nurses Association does a number of things to represent the interests of the nurses at KU Hospital.  KU Nurses Association is the body that negotiates a hospital-wide contract for nurses, establishing things like raises and differentials, PTO and holidays, benefits such as retirement and health insurance, and even general working conditions such as attire, call-in times, seniority rules and privileges, etc.  KU Nurses Association re-negotiates its agreement with the Hospital every three years, fighting for better benefits and working conditions each time.

A team of KU Nurses Association leaders also meets with the Hospital on a regular basis to discuss and shape hospital policy and decisions.  KU Nurses Association acts as a watchdog to protect nurses' rights, and provides a voice for nurses in hospital decisions about patient care, employment, and more.

And of course, KU Nurses Association represents individual employees in their work issues or disputes.  KU Nurses Association's contract establishes a grievance procedure for appealing decisions like placement, discipline, inaccurate employee evaluations, unfair treatment or favoritism, and contract violations of any kind.  KU Nurses Association has several member-representatives trained to assist and represent members in grievances, and also receives support from AFT-KS staff  in representing members in their workplace disputes.

 "At the banquet table of life, there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take

and keep what you can hold.... And you can't take anything without organization."

                                                                                     --A. Philip Randolph