UEA mulling axing annual weekend

Teachers are gathering by the masses in downtown Salt Lake City for seminars, idea sharing and a shot at free stuff.

But even more are staying home, going on vacation and hanging out with their kids on what's come to be known as "UEA Weekend."

"Teachers aren't being paid for this, and they're overwhelmed," said Pat Rusk, president of the some 18,000-member Utah Education Association. "They see a four-day weekend, and I can't blame those teachers (for taking it) . . . I think they're missing out, but I do understand."

But the competition for teachers' time has union leaders wondering:

Is the 150-year-old annual convention worth keeping?

UEA leaders are gathering data and will analyze what they find in early 2004. A decision could be made soon thereafter. But nothing would take effect for a couple of years, considering the union already has booked the Salt Palace Convention Center that long in advance.

Still, the union's decision ought not to be taken lightly. It could impact far more people than the few thousand of Utah's 24,000 teachers believed to attend its annual conference.

It conceivably could affect well over 1 million people, considering Utah public schools educate nearly 500,000 children.

Utah school districts lump days off for the UEA convention into their calendar every year. The local union has negotiated that in Jordan School District, for instance, school board President Peggy Jo Kennett said. And should the union ax the convention, the board would have to take input on whether the days off should stay or go.

It's a big deal. Parents take time off work to spend family time during UEA Weekend. Church leaders call the union to make sure they're not scheduling big events over UEA Weekend, when everyone will be gone, Rusk said. Heck, some people even have UEA Weekend as a child visitation condition in divorce decrees.

It's uncertain how those folks would take having that vacation time pulled.

"Change is always hard, but I don't think it would be a life-changing event for any family if they couldn't have it," Utah PTA President JoAnn Neilson said. "But I may be wrong.

There may be some families who are set in rule, that this is the time they go certain places."