About Us

United Academics-AAUP/AFT Local 4996 is the largest higher education faculty union within the University of Alaska. Faculty members are active at all three campuses—Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Southeast. 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.

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.

For more information, visit our History page.

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.