This year’s 2026 Maine Education Association (MEA) Representative Assembly (May 16-17, 2026) marked a significant turning point for higher education advocacy across our state. For too long, the unique challenges, voices, and priorities of university and higher education professionals have been quietly underrepresented in the assembly’s formal legislative business.
Historically, members of higher education in attendance rarely submit formal items or resolutions. While our passion and dedication have never been in doubt, translating our specific workplace realities into state-level policy priorities within the MEA framework is a hurdle we have seldom crossed in large numbers. This year, we fundamentally changed that dynamic.
Stepping forward to ensure our sectors are no longer a footnote in state-level educational labor strategies, I had the privilege—as your statewide UMPSA President—of putting our priorities front and center. In total, I submitted seven (7) New Business Items (NBIs) and two (2) Resolutions directly targeting the structural, operational, and professional issues facing our members.
Bringing forward nine distinct items represents a historic level of action from the higher education caucus. It signals to the broader MEA membership that higher education is organized, vocal, and deeply committed to shaping the MEA and Maine’s labor agenda. Below are the NBI and resolutions that were passed by the 2026 MEA Representative Assembly.
New Business Items that were Resolved/Passed
Our seven New Business Items were structured to deliver immediate, actionable directives to the association, focusing on targeted advocacy, resource allocation, and policy enforcement necessary to stabilize our campus environments. Out of seven (7) submitted, five (5) were adopted.
- Resolved/Passed: The MEA will advocate that the University of Maine System implement a cost-effective, socially responsible retirement investment option that explicitly excludes companies that violate human rights.
- Resolved/Passed: The MEA will advocate for the adoption of comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Plans across all higher education locals, modeled after regulations requiring employers to conduct thorough risk assessments, establish clear reporting protocols, and develop specific emergency responses for when weapons are reported on campus.
- Resolved/Passed: The MEA will advocate for requiring Higher education employers to implement a comprehensive safety program. This program must include professional development for all employees on de-escalation techniques in and outside the classroom, as well as clearly defined emergency protocols for identifying dangerous individuals on campus.
- Resolved/Passed: The MEA will assist Higher Education locals in Legislative lobbying efforts for a $250 million Capital Bond dedicated to urgent life-safety, health-hazard remediation, ADA-accessible, and energy-efficient upgrades within the University of Maine System.
- Resolved/Passed: The MEA will advocate that the University of Maine System Board of Trustees adopt a fair and transparent funding model that distributes state appropriations across all seven campuses, independent of peer institution benchmarks or student residential status.
Submitted Resolutions
In addition to immediate actions, long-term policy positioning is vital. The two submitted resolutions establish permanent, foundational principles within the MEA’s core belief statements regarding the rights, protections, and institutional value of higher education staff. Out of the two (2) submitted, two (2) were adopted.
- Resolved/Passed: The MEA believes that all students deserve access to a high-quality, fully resourced public education, regardless of which University of Maine System (UMS) campus they attend, and that the funding model used to distribute state appropriations must be independent of formulaic distinctions based on commuter/residential status or peer institutions, and instead prioritize a sustainable funding structure that honors the unique mission of each campus and ensure equitable resource allocation for all students.
- Resolved/Passed: The MEA believes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies implemented within pre-k- 12 and Higher Education Institutions should be used exclusively to augment and support human labor, and explicitly not to replace, automate, or displace employee positions.
If you have ideas for New Business Items or Resolutions that we can submit to the MEA Representative Assembly, please contact Sara Abronze at [email protected].