# Education Minnesota *Labor union of pre-K–12 teachers, school support staff and higher education faculty in Minnesota* Education Minnesota is a [[Minnesota]] labor union. Its members include pre-kindergarten through grade 12 teachers, school support staff, and college and university faculty.[^1] The union is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the AFL-CIO, and it has its headquarters in St. Paul.[^1] It was formed when the state's NEA and AFT affiliates merged. The merger was agreed in March 1997 and took effect on September 1, 1998.[^2] Abdul Wright was the union's 2016 Teacher of the Year. In a statement on his conviction, the union said "the crimes he was convicted of occurred after he received the award" and that the name "will be stricken from our historical records."[^3] On September 10, 2025, MPR News reported that Wright had been found guilty of sexually abusing a student. KSTP reported that he was sentenced to 14 years.[^4][^5] The union's published list of past recipients runs from 2017 to 2015. It has no 2016 entry and no note of the removal.[^6] The union runs a political action committee. A union press release announces its endorsement of Blaha, Ellison and Simon.[^7][^9] On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued Office of Public Affairs release No. 26-21, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. The release announced a lawsuit against the State. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^10] The record compiled for this article does not establish any connection between that suit and Education Minnesota. It also does not give the suit's docket number or current status.[^10] ## Who The union's membership spans three groups: pre-K–12 teachers, education support staff and higher-education faculty. It holds affiliations with the NEA and the AFT at the national level, and with the AFL-CIO.[^1] When the merger took place, the MEA president, Judy Schaubach, and the MFT president, Sandra Peterson, were elected co-presidents of the combined union.[^2] The union publishes its own account of its organization and history on About, merger-history and history pages of its website.[^11][^12][^13] ## What Education Minnesota was formed by combining the Minnesota Education Association (MEA) with the Minnesota Federation of Teachers (MFT). Both parent unions approved the combination.[^2][^12] Each year the union holds the Minnesota Educator Academy, formerly called the Education Minnesota Professional Conference. The conference is described as the largest professional development event open to Minnesota educators. Schools do not hold classes on those days so that educators can attend, although many do not.[^14] The union maintains a political action page.[^7] The project's link catalogue lists the union's home page as the source for its campaign finance disclosures.[^8] Its press release on the endorsement of Blaha, Ellison and Simon is posted among its news releases. The record compiled here does not give the release's date.[^9] ## When - **March 1997:** The MEA–MFT merger that created the union was agreed. It took effect on September 1, 1998.[^2] - **Late 1990s:** The AFT and NEA were discussing a national merger at the time, and the Minnesota merger was regarded as a step toward it. The national plan failed. The AFT had approved the agreement, but it fell short of the two-thirds majority required at the NEA convention. Education Minnesota's dual affiliation was not affected.[^2] - **After the merger:** A dispute over per capita dues went unresolved for two years before the parties reached a settlement.[^2] - **September 2000:** The Montana Education Association and Montana Federation of Teachers merged.[^15] - **October, annually:** The conference falls on the third Thursday in October, according to the article's conference section. The article's lead places it on the third weekend of the month.[^14][^1] - **2020:** The conference week became the biggest travel week in the state since the first effects of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].[^14] - **September 10, 2025:** MPR News reported Wright's conviction.[^4] - **January 14, 2026:** The Justice Department issued release No. 26-21.[^10] ## Where The union is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.[^1] The conference period is known as "MEA weekend." It ranks among the state's heaviest travel periods and is described as busier than Thanksgiving.[^14] Joint NEA–AFT locals and state bodies already existed before the Minnesota merger. They had formed in the 1960s and 1970s in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Orleans, and across Florida. After the Minnesota merger, discussions began in Missouri, New Mexico, New York and Texas.[^15] ## How The Representative Convention is the union's highest authority and meets annually. Between conventions, a 44-member governing board meets every month. The board sets dues, adopts the budget and carries out the convention's policy directives. Three full-time officers lead the union between board meetings: a president, a vice president and a secretary-treasurer.[^1] The merger agreement set few ground rules in advance. Each parent union then insisted on receiving its full per capita dues, which would have doubled what Education Minnesota members paid. The eventual agreement set a new dues level. Back dues owed to the NEA were paid down, and the AFT forgave the dues it had expected.[^2] Both national unions later concluded that state mergers needed ground rules. Each adopted its own approval guidelines. Through their joint council, "NEAFT," they agreed on further conditions for future state mergers. AFT president Sandra Feldman said publicly that state mergers would continue until the two unions had merged in practice.[^15] ## How many - **Members:** more than 90,000 (2017).[^1] - **Staff:** about 170 (2017).[^1] - **Convention:** about 900 elected delegates.[^1] - **Governing board:** 44 members.[^1] - **No-raid agreements:** NEA and AFT state affiliates had signed such agreements in 26 states. The agreements set jurisdictions and barred each union from absorbing the other.[^15] - **Sentence:** 14 years, as reported by KSTP.[^5] ## Omissions in official accounts The union's statement on Wright's conviction said that his name "will be stricken from our historical records." It also said the crimes "occurred after he received the award."[^3] The union's public list of past Teacher of the Year recipients runs from 2017 to 2015. The list contains no 2016 entry and no note that a recipient was removed.[^6] Neither page is dated in the record compiled here.[^3][^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Education Minnesota*, lead section (rev. 1356267573, retrieved 2026-10-27) — membership, affiliations, headquarters, governance, member and staff counts, conference timing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Minnesota [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Education Minnesota*, section "Merger" (rev. 1356267573, retrieved 2026-10-27) — merger dates, failed national merger, co-presidents, dues dispute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Minnesota [^3]: Education Minnesota, *Minnesota Teacher of the Year statement on conviction of Abdul Wright* (undated) — the union's statement on the conviction and on striking the name. https://educationminnesota.org/news/uncategorized/minnesota-teacher-of-the-year-statement-on-conviction-of-abdul-wright/ [^4]: MPR News, *Abdul J. Wright found guilty of sexually abusing student* (2025-09-10) — report of the conviction. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/09/10/abdul-j-wright-found-guilty-of-sexually-abusing-student [^5]: KSTP, *Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year sentenced to 14 years for sexually abusing student* (undated) — report of the sentence. https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/former-minnesota-teacher-of-the-year-sentenced-to-14-years-for-sexually-abusing-student/ [^6]: Education Minnesota, *Teacher of the Year: Past recipients* (undated) — public recipients list, running 2017 to 2015 with no 2016 entry. https://educationminnesota.org/news/awards-and-honors/teacher-of-the-year/past-recipients/ [^7]: Education Minnesota, *Political Action Committee* (undated) — the union's political action page. https://www.educationminnesota.org/political-action [^8]: Education Minnesota, *Home page* (undated) — indexed in the project's link catalogue as the source for the union's campaign finance disclosures. https://www.educationminnesota.org/ [^9]: Education Minnesota, *Education Minnesota endorses Blaha, Ellison and Simon* (undated) — press release announcing the endorsement. https://educationminnesota.org/news/press-release/education-minnesota-endorses-blaha-ellison-and-simon/ [^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (2026-01-14) — announcement of the suit and of the Attorney General's certification. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^11]: Education Minnesota, *About* (undated) — the union's self-description page. https://educationminnesota.org/about-us/ [^12]: Education Minnesota, *About / Merger history* (undated) — the union's own account of the merger. https://educationminnesota.org/about/ [^13]: Education Minnesota, *Our history* (undated) — the union's history page. https://educationminnesota.org/about/our-history/ [^14]: Wikipedia contributors, *Education Minnesota*, section "Minnesota Educator Academy" (rev. 1356267573, retrieved 2026-10-27) — conference name, scale, timing and travel volume. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Minnesota [^15]: Wikipedia contributors, *Education Minnesota*, section "Impact on other NEA/AFT mergers" (rev. 1356267573, retrieved 2026-10-27) — earlier and later mergers, no-raid agreements, NEAFT guidelines, Feldman statement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Minnesota