Mission

A Message from the UEA-D President


Welcome to the webpage for the University Education Association–Duluth!


The University Education Association is the official union for faculty on the campuses of the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and the University of Minnesota Crookston. It advocates for good working conditions and fair treatment of faculty on both campuses through frequent conversations with campus- and system-level university administrations.

We conduct these conversations using the following frameworks:

  • Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations–the Collective Bargaining Agreement (or CBA) is a legally-binding agreement between the University of Minnesota and its faculty. Many of our conversations with the University Administration will refer to this crucial document.

  • CBA Administration–the UEA-Duluth engages in frequent meetings with campus-level administration to oversee the day-to-day implementation of provisions in our CBA and forestall misunderstandings or disagreements when possible.

  • Grievance–if the UEA believes the University Administration has violated a term in our CBA, UEA will initiate a grievance procedure that will seek a resolution to the grievance. A grievance may be on the behalf of an individual faculty member or on the behalf of UEA itself.

In addition to the above, officers in the UEA will continually talk to University Administrators, UMD faculty, and other members of our community to keep advocating for improved conditions of employment. We will do so in accordance with our local understanding of life at UMD and also with the support of the larger unions with whom we are affiliated: Education Minnesota, the National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers.

If you are a UMD faculty member, your union spends a lot of time behind the scenes fighting for you. We are, however, only as strong as our membership. Here are three ways you can make the UEA stronger:

  • Become a dues-paying member. Put yourself in the loop as an informed faculty member and participate in our biennial union leadership elections. Your membership gives the UEA a mandate to speak for you, so maximize that mandate by signing your union card.

  • Show up to our events and get to know your fellow members. Beginning with our Fall Welcome Breakfast, the UEA will offer UMD faculty multiple opportunities to connect and engage in discussions across disciplinary boundaries.

  • Advocate for your union. Reach out to UEA leadership when you have concerns. Join us for our more coordinated advocacy events, and never miss a chance to talk to us when we ask for feedback.

As you get to know your union, you will find that it is committed to making UMD a rich environment for learning and research with strong support for the valuable work that our faculty do. UEA-D are your colleagues and friends, and they became more involved because of their devotion to this community of scholars, staff and students.

We look forward to hearing from you!


John Schwetman

President

University Education Association–Duluth