Kansas Staff Organization

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

Today we celebrate the labor movement, unions, and we remember where we came from while focusing on the work still ahead.

Happy Labor Day!

08/31/2026

🚢 THE TRUTH TOUR CONTINUES — NEXT STOP: LEVEL 2 GRIEVANCE RESPONSES

We are on a sinking ship.
There is a hole in the boat. Water is pouring in.
And instead of fixing the hole, the people pointing at it and trying to fix it are being treated like the problem.

There is still time to plug the hole.
There is still time to bail out the water.
But pretending the water isn’t rising won’t save the ship.

⚖️ TWO EMPLOYERS. ONE GRIEVANCE. TWO VERY DIFFERENT STORIES.

Mallory was terminated after what the union believes were multiple violations of the collective bargaining agreement and protected employee rights. She took those concerns through the grievance process.

Then came the Level 2 responses.

One response essentially says: “You haven’t proven the violations.”

The other lays out the allegations, the contractual provisions involved, the circumstances of the termination, and why the union believes Mallory should be reinstated.

That’s a remarkable difference.

A grievance isn’t supposed to be a bureaucratic exercise where management says “DENIED” and moves on. A grievance is the mechanism through which a union holds an employer accountable to the contract.

So look at the two responses side by side and ask a simple question:

Which side looks like it is actually fighting to enforce the contract?

Because this isn’t just about Mallory. It’s about what happens to the next employee who files a grievance. It’s about whether our contract means something when an employee needs it. It’s about whether we have leaders who understand that a union stands between management and its members — not beside management when a member needs defending.

We should expect our union leadership to know the rules. To understand the grievance process. To fight like hell when a member’s rights have been violated.

That’s not asking too much. That’s the job.

🚢 THE SHIP IS STILL FLOATING.

The hole can still be plugged. The water can still be pumped out. But that requires people be willing to admit there’s a problem, and willing to do something about it. And it requires being committed to righting the ship we’re on, not looking for a lifeboat instead.

So look at the two Level 2 responses. Read them. Compare them. Then ask yourself:

If this were YOU who had just been fired, which response would you want your union to give you?

Solidarity isn’t a slogan when everything is going well. Solidarity is what happens when one of our own, or the union, is in trouble

THE TRUTH TOUR CONTINUES.
🚢 Plug the hole.
💧 Bail the water.
✊ Stand with the members.

SOLIDARITY. CONTRACT. POWER.

08/28/2026

🚨 KNEA MEMBERS: IS THIS HOW YOU WANT YOUR DUES DOLLARS SPENT?

This isn’t just a disagreement. It’s a fight over due process, collective bargaining, and the rights of employees.

At the May KNEA Board meeting, the Board took unilateral action on an issue it had previously tried—and failed—to negotiate through bargaining.

Instead of continuing the bargaining process, the Board bypassed it. In doing so, KSO’s right to bargain over the change was taken away. As joint employers, the UniServs were also denied their role in ratifying those changes.

Then, just days later, Dr. Fernkopf terminated Mallory without progressive discipline or just cause.

We have already explained in previous posts how we believe that termination violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement in multiple ways. We believe KNEA leaders unilaterally redefined aspects of joint-employer status and the contract to support their position.

Here’s what is especially disappointing:

Not once has Executive Director Fernkopf or President Schwanz reached out to us and asked, “How can we resolve this?”

Instead, they appear committed to taking this dispute through mediation, arbitration, and the courts.

And there’s a major difference in how the two sides are approaching this conflict.

We are using our personal time, KSO funds, and KSO/NSO resources to defend the rights we believe are protected by our agreement.

KNEA is using KNEA employee time, KNEA Board meeting time, KNEA funds, and KNEA resources to fight for the ability to:

❌ Dismiss employees without progressive discipline, due process, or just cause.

❌ Violate provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

❌ Unilaterally redefine joint-employer status.

❌ Bypass the bargaining and ratification process.

This isn’t just about one employee or one dispute.

It’s about what protections your union is willing to defend—and what your union is willing to spend your dues dollars fighting for.

KNEA members deserve transparency. They deserve accountability. And they deserve to know why their dues are being used in this way.

So we’ll ask again:

Is this how you want KNEA spending your dues dollars?

Or should KNEA be working to find a solution that respects the contract, the bargaining process, and the people it represents?

08/26/2026

Today’s KNEA event was cancelled by management and governance to avoid facing members who are questioning their union values.

To be clear, the members who organized the protest did not cancel the event. They exercised their right to organize, speak up, and take action—and we commend them for doing so.

It’s also fair to ask: What did this cancellation cost KNEA members in dues dollars? When an event is cancelled, members deserve transparency about the financial impact and the decision-making behind it.

We’re proud of the members who stood together and used their collective power today.

08/25/2026

Continuing on the Solidarity Share Out- we want to give a big thank you to Walnut Valley UniServ for being the second UniServ Ad Board to take a position publicly with KSO. Kaw Valley UniServ was the first to do so in June.

It seems the KNEA Board of Directors continue to ignore their members despite being told over and over that KNEA is a bottom-up organization.

Garden City took a brave step, Kaw Valley took a brave step, and now Walnut Valley.

We are standing in solidarity with all members ready to take a brave step.

If your uniserv or local doesn’t have a platform to share your vote of no confidence letter- you can message it to the account directly.

08/21/2026

Thank you, Garden City Educators Association, for standing publicly with UniServ Director Mallory Raugewitz-Blick, and for naming what fairness and due process should look like inside a labor union.

GCEA is the second local or UniServ to take this position publicly. Kaw Valley UniServ was the first to do so in June.

In the 10 weeks between, several locals and over half of the UniServs in Kansas have communicated similar positions to the KNEA Board of Directors.

We understand why most of those communications have been private: internal channels, ongoing relationships, hope that the process would work the way it’s supposed to. Having that hope, and choosing diplomacy first, was never wrong, and the members in those locals and UniServs should have been heard by now.

Unfortunately, private pleas for process to right this wrong have not been honored.

So to every local and UniServ that has already told the Board where you stand, know this: as you have stood with us, we continue to stand with you — privately and publicly — in the fight for fair and just labor practices, and we are proud and encouraged to know how many of you are willing to hold that line alongside us.

If and when you’re ready, we invite you to share your position here, too. Not because we don’t share your dedication to diplomacy, but because we do share your dedication to the truth; and it’s time for the truth to be told.

Tuesday General Meeting Highlights!

GCEA had its best attended general meeting in at least 2 years. Shout out to all of you for coming to what turned out to be an eventful evening!

GCEA proposed a budget for 2026-27, and that will be debated at our September general meeting. Additionally, GCEA passed two resolutions aimed at holding our union accountable to the same union values we fiercely defend here in Garden City.

Those resolutions will be in the comments. We would love to see all of you at our September meeting!

08/19/2026

THE TRUTH TOUR CONTINUES
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
In order to aid in a transparent discussion of the facts, we recently shared the transcript and audio from the June 4 meeting in which KNEA management terminated our colleague Mallory.

Those facts mostly speak for themselves: the contract was violated, the joint employer was disregarded, and union values never entered the chat from management’s side of the table. It’s really that simple. Still, there are moments worth taking a closer look at.

One example is the portion highlighted below, where KSO President Michael Campbell refers to a previous conversation with AED Tammy Baltzell. It’s important to know the context of what Michael was speaking of, as he was referring to statements made by Tammy Baltzell less than three hours before Mallory’s termination. These statements were made to the whole staff in a morning meeting scheduled for the express purpose of allowing Tammy to connect and establish expectations with the employees she has been charged with directly supervising. And in this moment, Michael is reminding Tammy of the promises she made at that meeting regarding her management principles.

Here are a few of those statements from her to staff:
-I will always start with a conversation before any discipline.
- I will weigh UniServ chair involvement in conversations regarding UD improvement based on what is most likely to help the employee succeed
- I’d tailor my approach to each person's needs using my "teacher brain.”
- Discipline and communication should never feel like a "gotcha."
- My job is to protect you.
- David and I come from different paths. He comes from governance and I come from the staff
- I will follow the contract
- I won’t attack staff. I will ask questions. I know previous managers attacked staff
- First starting point will not be write up, but I will have multiple conversations.

Michael is pointing out, in substance, that none of those stated principles are being honored in the very meeting that follows that session by mere hours.

Just as David Fernkopf does, Tammy readily acknowledges inconsistencies as if acknowledging is an equitable substitute for engaging or addressing or resolving. It isn’t.

08/17/2026

NEXT STOP ON THE TRUTH TOUR - The Executive Director’s Job Description�
David’s tenure as Executive Director has been marked by extremely high turnover, poor working conditions, including physical, emotional, and mental harm, and actions antithetical to union values — and that matters not just because of how it impacts staff, but because of what members lose every time David fails the duties and responsibilities of his own job description (see these in detail in the picture below).

Let’s start with the following: STAFF RELATIONS (see pic below). He has seen 17 departures in two years during his tenure — a turnover rate that has surpassed 40% with the addition of another resignation this month. He has caused multiple individual, class action grievances, and unfair labor practices in his first two years. He has terminated without just cause and in violation of the contract. At Saturday’s board meeting, it was made clear David also allowed former Business Manager, Steve Rush, who managed KNEA’s finance department, to resign and work a full 60-day notice — through April and May — while he went three-plus months without completed financial reports.��Either David knew Steve Rush had stopped producing work and let him work the full notice anyway, or he didn’t know anything was wrong at all. Neither is compatible or acceptable with “coordinate, direct, and evaluate the work of KNEA’s employees” — and that’s the Executive Director’s job. Additionally, the job posting for the Executive Director states: “In collaboration with the President and Officers, the Executive Director develops and manages an Operational Plan and an annual Operational Budget and is accountable to the Board for the long-term financial and fiscal health and sustainability of the Association.”

David Fernkopf is not making careful, legally defensible decisions to protect KNEA and its members. He is keeping his job despite proving repeatedly that he is a liability and just cannot do it.



***Edit: Upon request, larger images are posted in the comments.

08/13/2026

THE TRUTH TOUR CONTINUES: TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY MATTER.

🚨 🚨🚨
After the last KNEA Board meeting, it became clear that many Board members were unaware of key facts surrounding Mallory’s termination, despite their fiduciary responsibility to understand major staffing and potential legal matters.

Dr. Fernkopf openly recorded the June 4 termination meeting. We’re sharing the audio and transcript so the Board has the facts before its next meeting.

The KNEA Board has a responsibility to oversee Dr. Fernkopf and hold leadership accountable.

🎧 Listen. 📄 Read. 👀 Then ask yourself: Is this the leadership you expect from your union?

The facts are available. Accountability starts with knowing them.
. . . . . .

Additionally, it is important to note that the decision by KSO to vote for a Resolution of No Confidence in Dr. David Fernkopf as the Executive Director of KNEA was not a response to Mallory's unjust termination, but rather two years in the making. This termination meeting, how it was handled, and Dr. Fernkopf's justifications of bad-boss behavior and poor union values were the straw that finally broke the camel's back.

. . . . . . . .

If you haven't already done so, please reach out to your UniServ Board Member to determine where they stand on these issues. Try to convince them to take action on behalf of due process, union values, and accountability for those in power. Remind them that their fiduciary responsibilities are not optional, even when doing the right thing is uncomfortable.



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wN5jSVm102ZAtpwoiXljOPKEJki9H_hO/view?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w84QNziMbT5OHB76GTnrGMV0fIChPxwV/edit

JUNE 4TH, 2026 – MEETING BY KNEA MANAGEMENT TO TERMINATE MALLORY RAUGEWITZ-BLICK [0:13] - Dr. David Fernkopf, KNEA Executive Director Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and record too. Thank you for being here today, Mallory and Michael. Um, Okay, so, uh, as a probationary employee, uh, Mallory, KNEA has .....