By uniting faculty toward the common goal of providing quality education to University of Alaska’s students, United Academics continues to improve higher education in Alaska. Our aim is to return public funding for education to a level that adequately serves the people of Alaska while restoring meaningful faculty governance and maintaining adequate compensation of faculty members.

United Academics-AAUP/AFT Local 4996 is the largest of the three higher education faculty unions at the University of Alaska. Each of the three MAUs—University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage, and University of Alaska Southeast–have an Org VP who is elected by the full members of each campus. The Representative Assembly (RA) is also elected by the full members of each campus. The President of UNAC is elected at large by UNAC faculty who are Full Members. United Academics also has a Contract Manager and other staff who work closely together with faculty, the UNAC President, and the RA to ensure that all of the elements of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) are consistently followed. United Academics members who have questions or concerns are welcome to talk with an RA member, the Org VP from their MAU, and/or the Contract Manager, Cyndee West.

We are affiliated with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Background

United Academics was organized in 1996, ratifying our first contract in 1998. Since that time, positive changes to faculty workload and wages have been made through union representation.

Objectives

Our organizational objectives, as stated in our Constitution, are as follows:

1. Facilitate more effective cooperation among faculty at the University of Alaska for the promotion of the interests of higher education, teaching, research, and service, and in general to increase the usefulness and advance the standards, ideals, and welfare of the profession.
2. Protect and advance the professional status and interests of all faculty.
3. Promote the diversity of unique academic interests and capabilities at each campus within a unified university.
4. Defend academic freedom at the University of Alaska.
5. Sustain and enhance governance at the University of Alaska.
6. Support and promote the purposes of the national constitutions of the AAUP and AFT as they relate to higher education.
7. Join AAUP in its commitment to protect faculty by taking measures, including censure, against colleges and universities practicing illegal or unconstitutional discrimination, such as discrimination based on age, sex, disability, race, religion, national origins, marital status, or sexual orientation.
8. Promote educational programs, opportunities, and research at the University of Alaska for the benefit of the people of the State of Alaska.