Utah Education Association
| Full name | Utah Education Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| Members | 18,000+ (2009) |
| Affiliation | National Education Association (NEA) |
| Key people | Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh,[1] president |
| Office location | Murray, Utah |
| Country | Utah |
| Website |
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 in Ogden. It is the state affiliate of the National Education Association.[2]
History
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 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]
Convention
The UEA's annual convention is its largest and most high-profile event, featuring national speakers and workshops on best teaching practices. It also attracts political candidates, and includes an awards banquet highlighting excellence in teaching. Most of Utah's school districts take their fall break just before the annual deer hunt starts,[11][12] and UEA usually schedules its convention to coincide with this break, so that teachers can attend without taking days off or hiring substitutes.[13] Eventually the schools came to refer to the fall break as "UEA Weekend," until a state law passed in 2007 barred them from doing so, to avoid favoring or endorsing one employee association over another.[14]
After many years at the Salt Palace convention center in downtown Salt Lake, the convention moved to the South Town Exposition Center in 2008.[15]
Notes
- ↑ "Teacher to take on challenges as new UEA president," Salt Lake Tribune, July 6, 2010
- ↑ Utah Education Association website
- ↑ Utah Education Association website
- ↑ MICHAEL T. MCCOY McCoy, Michael T. and James B. Eldridge, “The Evolution of the Utah Education Association into Collective Bargaining in Utah,” NEA Bargaining and SERSA Conference, Miami, FL, 2003.
- ↑ "Teachers: Showdown in Utah," Time Magazine,Friday, May. 24, 1963
- ↑ MICHAEL T. MCCOY McCoy and Eldridge, p. 4. The claim of 'first statewide teachers' strike' is also made by the Florida statewide teachers' strike of 1968
- ↑ "Lily Eskelsen: Teacher Rises to Executive Post at Nat'l Education Association," Hispanic Business, April 7, 2009
- ↑ Washington Post, "Utah Rejects Broad Voucher Program" November 7, 2007
- ↑ UEA website voucher story
- ↑ A discussion of the debate over House Bill 148 can be found in the article on Patrick M. Byrne
- ↑ Austin, Dennis D. (2010). Mule deer : a handbook for Utah hunters and landowners. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. p. 21. ISBN 9780874217414.
Indeed, the fourth or fifth most important Utah “holiday” during the school year was the opening weekend of the general deer hunt.
- ↑ "Deer Hunting In Utah". Utah Travel Secrets. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
Deer hunting in Utah evolved into a statewide event through the years. Schools closed on the Friday before the hunt started and this continued even into recent years.
- ↑ Rigert, Michael (2009-09-30). "UEA convention, fall break held on separate weekends this year". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
- ↑ text of SB56S32007
- ↑ "UEA switch throws wrench in works," Deseret News, September 28, 2009
References
- Moffitt, John Clifton. A Century of Service, 1860-1960: A History of the Utah Education Association. Salt Lake City: Utah Education Association, 1960.
- Buchanan, Frederick S. (1994), "Education in Utah", in Powell, Allan Kent, Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, ISBN 0874804256, OCLC 30473917
- 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.