APEU Joins AEA/NEA

Joining with Education Professionals Across the State and Nation

Last night, members of the APEU Local 965, formerly affiliated with AFSCME, voted to chart a new course for employees of the University of Arkansas by joining forces with the Arkansas Education Association, the state chapter of the nation’s largest union, the National Education Association.

We are thrilled to join with thousands of other educators across the state to advance the cause of public education in Arkansas by promoting student success, protecting workers’ rights, fighting for a living wage and ensuring campus safety. The Local will continue to stand for all workers in the UA System — from faculty and staff, instructors and graduate assistants to research techs and facilities management professionals.

Our members will work closely with the AEA in Little Rock to voice the priorities of UA employees to state decision makers in the ongoing effort to aid the university in its mission to make Arkansas more equitable and prosperous for future generations.

AEA President Carol Fleming said on learning of our decision, “We are excited that educators from the University of Arkansas voted to join thousands of educators across our state as members of the Arkansas Education Association. We are celebrating our 150th year representing educators entrusted with educating Arkansas’s students from pre-K through higher ed. Our growing membership from institutions of higher education is a natural fit under the recent state government transformation which brought the various facets of education together under one umbrella.”

As a business note, the vote of Nov. 21 necessitates our scheduling a regular meeting in December. That will be 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at Columbus House Brewery on North Street. As always, we welcome members and all interested in our group.

— Bret Schulte, APEU president