Matt Ricketts’ life has covered a lot of terrain. Boxer, bartender; surfer, stockbroker; housepainter, lover, dreamer, and musician. Growing up in middle America, Matt acquired a love of raw voices: working-class Irish tunes soaked in booze; rambling Hank, passionate Willie, the lonely wail of The Country Gentleman. Springsteen. Leonard Cohen. The Stones. From there he made his way to San Francisco, drifting around most of the world on a cruise ship in between.

Matt’s new album West is the story of a young man’s journey through the wild lands of hope, love, and danger, to the big city and adult life, where the soaring dream careens off a cliff and stumbles from the wreckage, bruised but intact. In his earnest, sensitive tenor, Matt tells stories about loneliness and heartbreak, the bittersweetness of leaving, and the coming of middle-age, staying vulnerable and hopeful through it all.

Using the familiar sounds of his boyhood—acoustic guitars, upright bass, fiddle, pedal steel,and raw, honest voices—Matt moves through diverse moods and landscapes on West. From the desolate loneliness of Here I Am, through the spiky blues-rock of Hit My Stride, to the sweet pastel sunset of Gone Are the Days, the album is as varied as the West itself.

In live performance, Matt presents the songs in stripped-down, acoustic form. In addition to his striking vocals and acoustic guitar, he is joined on stage by Katy Martin (who appears on the album as well) for haunting, ethereal harmonies and additional guitar.

Who can be a KUNA member?

KUNA'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 KUNA's "bargaining unit."

However, any nurse at the Hospital can be a KUNA member and receive the membership benefits, insurance, and KUNA 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 KUNA members.

What is the KUNA "contract"? Don't I have my own contract with the Hospital?

The "contract," as it is sometimes called, between KUNA 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 KUNA Memorandum. Click here to read KUNA's Memorandum of Agreement.

How much are KUNA dues?

KUNA dues are $14.53 per pay period, which is automatically deducted from payroll. This covers our affiliations with AFTKS and AFT, pays for our member insurance and malpractice benefits, helps cover administrative costs and legal fees, and also provides money for local activities, such as parties, picnics, or incentives. And because of KUNA's great benefits, membership dues are typically tax deductible if you itemize your income taxes! Membership doesn't cost, it pays!

I have a question or problem I want KUNA to help me with. Who do I contact?

Any KUNA officer or Executive Council Member can answer any questions. The following is a complete list of those current members.

Grievance Strategy

File grievances often. File grievances you know you’ll lose. File grievances even for policy decisions that work in your favor if they support a larger political argument you want to make.

Don’t be afraid to file policy grievances, or grievances on behalf of a group. It is also essential to keep good records; a file or database should be maintained to keep track not only of every grievance filed, but even of problems reported by potential grievants, which are never formally lodged. This sort of information is important for establishing during negotiations that there have been problems with policies or language in the contract in order to make the changes you want.

It is a good idea to report about grievances to department reps; often a wave of grievances will surface once someone realizes the fishy thing they experienced has happened to someone else, and is worse than just fishy.

Sometimes you will find information of great interest on the University’s website or in the news; if you have time, have someone surf the internet for this type of information. (For example, you may find an article bragging about a summer teaching program, the employees of which should be members of the bargaining unit and receiving benefits accordingly, but haven’t been, at which point you could file a grievance.) If you find a document on the internet that could help or fuel a grievance, be sure to print it off and file it away; the web is fleeting, and you may not find it when you go back.

Privacy and Record Keeping

Some grievants or potential grievants are likely to be afraid to expose their identities. It is important to respect their need for privacy or anonymity by assuring that all calls to the union are in confidence, and by restricting access to grievance records: no more than two or so people should have access to this information. When reporting about grievances to department reps or others, be careful what details you mention. Sometimes you don’t have to give a name to expose someone’s identity; if the department is small or the situation unique, it may be easy to identify the grievant.

Grievances and Contract Language

Some of what you’ve won during negotiations takes the form of ambiguous language that can be interpreted in different ways; for this reason, it’s occasionally to your benefit not to clarify meaning or intent with the University during negotiations. If you have this sort of ambiguous language in the contract, do your best to help educate faculty, administrators, and students about the policy, presenting to them the favorable interpretation. Keep in mind that you don’t merely have to accept the University’s interpretation, particularly if a problem leads to a potential grievance, and if the staff have been interpreting it your way up to then, all the better.

Other

Unless your contract is stellar, you can probably open it up to any page and find a potential grievance—a violation that’s going on somewhere. Summer Employment is ripe for grievances; frequently, contractual workload limits are entirely ignored for summer sessions. And whatever you do in negotiations, be sure your policies are actually grievable: No wishy-washy language!

GTAC Fights to Resolve Dissonance in Music Appointments

It’s long been a fact that GTAs at KU do a wide variety of work—and work hours—fortheir stipend. But you might be surprised by just how different things are for the students in the Music Department.

Almost no GTAs there have been receiving the normal 50% appointment. Some work light loads for their slight support, photocopying sheet music or arranging chairs for rehearsals. But others taught as many as two classes per semester, acting as the primary instructor for each. “We have people receiving a .2 appointment who teach six class hours a week before you even count the grading, prep time, or office hours,” says GTAC President Jeremiah Li. “They’re being incredibly taken advantage of. But when we’ve talked with our supervisors, we’re simply told that’s how it’s always been.”

“The Department seems to see it as ‘spreading the wealth around’” says one Music GTA.

“That’s a noble sentiment, but it ends up just ‘spreading’ the hardship. The work requirements are intense, and many of us are teaching core classes in the undergrad curriculum. We deserve to be compensated fairly.” Not only are students like this one not getting paid for all of the work they’re doing, they don’t receive health insurance or full tuition waivers, since they’re below the normal appointment level.

For some GTAs, this is a financial disaster; the GTA quoted above, for example, is married with a new baby. For others, it’s a matter of principle more than finances. "It is not so much the extra money from a 50% appointment,” says President Li, who himself held a .2 appointment last year, “but rather the recognition of the amount of work done by GTAs. The University needs to realize it’s not a favor to let us work for them."

When the Music students brought their problem to GTAC’s attention, it was clear that something had to be done. GTAs at KU have a contract with the University, called the Memorandum of Agreement, which is negotiated by GTAC and KAPE, its parent organization, and which establishes things like work hours, minimum salaries, and benefits. “These GTAs were wondering why we had no limitations on how many hours could be required,” GTAC Representative Katy Martin recalls. “But we do—the MOA says that a half-time appointment should require no more than twenty hours a week on average, with proportional requirements for other appointment levels. The problem is, someone is side-stepping the contract.”

In August, Martin contacted Alicia Clair, Interim Dean of the new School of Music, to inform her of the problem and seek out a solution. “Of course we can file a grievance, but my hope was that this was a mistake and we could resolve it right away,” Martin explains.

Unfortunately, after meeting with initial support from the Dean, the issue seemed to hit a roadblock. Dean Clair forwarded Martin’s email to the entire faculty of the School of Music, requesting a timely response. But the next time Martin attempted to contact the Dean, she was instructed to get in touch with Human Resources.

“When I called Human Resources, they didn’t offer an immediate response,” Martin says.

“They said they needed to do more research before they could address the issue.”

GTAC leaders, meanwhile, and of course the GTAs themselves, are eager to get the situation resolved. Keep your ears open for ways you can help bring attention to the Music students’ fight. And if you hear of a contract violation in your own department, don’t hesitate to contact GTAC. You can view the MOA at GTAC’s website, kape.aft.org/gtac.

Did you know?

Conditions of GTA employment at KU are determined by a Memorandum of Agreement with the University.

GTAC is currently negotiating a new Memorandum of Agreement! We’re fighting to gain:

□ Better wages

□ Better health care

□ A fair grievance procedure

□ No 10-semester limit on appointments

□ Better access to information about our jobs

We need your help! Stay informed about negotiations, and make your voice heard.

Want to know more or get involved? Contact your department representative, or email gtac@kugtac.org.

United we Bargain.

Divided we Beg.

All photos copyright Katy Martin.