The Oregon Education Association (OEA) is the largest public education employees' union in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, representing 44,000 teachers and classified personnel. It has local affiliates in each of the state's 199 public school districts, and 8 community colleges. It is the state affiliate of the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

. OEA was incorporated in 1927 as a non-profit educational organization, nearly four decades before Oregon enacted the Teacher-Board Consultation Law, one of the first

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

laws for teachers in the United States. OEA can trace its roots back to the Oregon State Educational Association, formed in 1858. It continues to include public educational policy and professional development programs in addition to activities more commonly associated with organized labor. In September 2008, the union's own professional-level employees went on strike against the union as their employer, protesting their workload and benefits. The strike was resolved and the professional staff returned to work on October 13, 2008.

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* * Trade unions established in 1927 Politics of Oregon National Education Association Education trade unions Trade unions in Oregon Organizations based in Portland, Oregon 1927 establishments in Oregon State wide trade unions in the United States {{Oregon-company-stub