The link below will take you to the Maine Education Association website. Use their interactive form to join AFUM as a higher ed member. Or complete the fillable (and printable) form below that, and email (or mail) that to the address listed. Your campus AFUM president can also accept your membership form.
UM AFUM at New Faculty Orientation 2018. Pank Agrrawal , Alicyn Smart, Lisa Neuman, and Michael Grillo.
Who can join AFUM?
All “full time faculty” in the University of Maine System who are designated by the University of Maine System as members of the AFUM bargaining unit are eligible for AFUM membership.
“Full time faculty” includes faculty who are phasing retirement and may be working less than full time as well as faculty who share appointments.
Professional staff who teach courses, adjunct instructors, and graduate students teaching their own courses or working as teaching assistants are not eligible for AFUM membership. Professional staff have their own union (UMPSA), and adjunct instructors are members of PATFA, which falls under the American Federation of Teachers and is not a part of the MEA or NEA. Graduate instructors within UMS currently are not unionized.
While serving as administrators, faculty are generally not eligible for AFUM membership (see exceptions below). However, faculty serving as administrators and those on administrative leave are eligible to join the MEA and NEA. Please scroll down to “How to Join the MEA as non-represented faculty” to connect with Sarah Nichols and establish an MEA-only membership (which includes membership in the NEA).
Administrative exceptions: Chairs of Departments at USM, UMM, and UMFK are designated by contract (Article 13) as belonging to the AFUM bargaining unit and should join AFUM. Chairs of Departments at UMF, UMA, UM, and UMPI* are not in the AFUM bargaining unit. *Some UMPI Chairs fall under an MOU whereby they are in the AFUM unit. UMPI chairs should check with UMPI HR to determine their AFUM status.
While Directors of Schools are not part of the AFUM unit, Program Directors may be non-represented or may be members of the AFUM unit. Their status is determined by UMS.
Why Should Full-Time UMS Faculty Join AFUM?
Because together, we are stronger. AFUM negotiates the contract, which includes everything from workload and overload rates to working conditions and the promotion and tenure process (among many other things) for full time faculty at Maine’s public universities. AFUM also negotiates raises and benefits, including health and retirement. AFUM informs, keeping members in the loop about important issues that affect us all. AFUM cares, providing guidance and assistance to faculty who need support, and providing grievance officers on each campus. AFUM works for all of us!
See below for the Dues Schedule and the Benefits of AFUM Membership.
UM AFUM at New Faculty Orientation 2018. Lisa Neuman and Sandy Caron.
Benefits of AFUM Membership
- Ability to serve as an AFUM officer, representative, or delegate.
- Ability to vote in AFUM elections, including those to approve the contract.
- $1 million professional liability insurance policy from the MEA.
- Eligibility to receive MEA professional legal assistance.
- Support of the work of the MEA and the NEA, the largest national union of K-12 educators in the US.
- That good feeling knowing that you are joining other faculty who advocate for faculty rights and interests.
How to Join the MEA as a Non-Represented Administrator
Click the link here: maineea.org/join
Contact Jennifer Chai (MEA) for Assistance: jchai@maineea.org