Utah Education Association

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]

Utah Education Association (UEA)
Full nameUtah Education Association
Founded1910
Members18,000+ (2009)
AffiliationNational Education Association (NEA)
Key peopleHeidi Matthews,[1] president
Office locationMurray, Utah
CountryUtah
Website

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

For over 100 years the UEA's annual convention was its largest and most high-profile event, featuring national speakers and workshops on best teaching practices. It also attracted political candidates, and included an awards banquet highlighting excellence in teaching. Most of Utah's school districts take their fall break on or just before the annual deer hunt,[11][12] and UEA usually scheduled its convention to coincide with this break, so that teachers could 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]

In 2018 the UEA ended its annual convention after dwindling attendance, and to give teachers a break from the demands of the classroom.[15][16]

Notes
  1. "Park City educator elected UEA president," Deseret News, April 25, 2016
  2. Utah Education Association website
  3. Utah Education Association website
  4. 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.
  5. "Teachers: Showdown in Utah," Time Magazine, Friday, May. 24, 1963
  6. 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
  7. "Lily Eskelsen: Teacher Rises to Executive Post at Nat'l Education Association," Hispanic Business, April 7, 2009
  8. Washington Post, "Utah Rejects Broad Voucher Program" November 7, 2007
  9. UEA website voucher story
  10. A discussion of the debate over House Bill 148 can be found in the article on Patrick M. Byrne
  11. 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.
  12. "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.
  13. Rigert, Michael (2009-09-30). "UEA convention, fall break held on separate weekends this year". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  14. text of SB56S32007
  15. "UEA Convention Discontinued". Utah Education Association. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  16. Cortez, Marjorie (15 July 2018). "Utah Education Association cancels fall convention". KSL. Retrieved 25 August 2020.

References
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