| Full name | Utah Education Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| Members | 18,000+ (2009) |
| Country | Utah |
| Affiliation | National Education Association (NEA) |
| Key people | Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh[1], president |
| Office location | Murray, Utah |
| Website | [1] |
The Utah Education Association (UEA) is the largest public education employees' union in the U.S. state of Utah, representing more than 18,000 teachers. It has local affiliates in 41 school districts, Applied Technology Colleges, and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. It is the state affiliate of the National Education Association.[2]
UEA was organized in 1860 as “The Deseret School Teachers’ Association,” “for the purpose of establishing a society for promoting the educational interests of the community.”[3] In 1910 it was incorporated as the "Utah Educational Association," and by 1924 had adopted the current name and restricted its membership to professional educators.[4]
In May 1964, at the climax of a battle with Utah governor George Dewey Clyde, the UEA led a two-day walkout - the first statewide teacher's strike in the nation.[5][6] From 1990 to 1996, the president of the UEA was Lily Eskelsen. She is now the vice-president of the NEA.[7] In 2007, UEA, working within a coalition called Utahns for Public Schools, led a successful bid to repeal what would have been the nation's first statewide universal private-school voucher.[8][9][10]
Moffitt, John Clifton. A Century of Service, 1860-1960: A History of the Utah Education Association. Salt Lake City: Utah Education Association, 1960.
Frederick S. Buchanan, History of Education in Utah, in the Utah History Encyclopedia.
Utah Education Association Addendum, (1949-1990), in the Utah State University Library.
"UEA leaders seek more spending per pupil as investment in future," Deseret News, 10/1/2009.
"Underfunded schools reach their breaking point," Salt Lake Tribune, 10/2/2009.