The dismal state of the once-powerful AEA, one year after its founder's passing

Former AEA Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert (Photo: YouTube)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — One year ago today the venerable Paul Hubbert, founder and longtime leader of the Alabama Education Association (AEA), passed away only a few years after officially retiring. Under his leadership the teachers’ union was unarguably the most powerful force in Alabama politics, but since Hubbert’s retirement and death the once formidable organization’s influence has significantly waned.

Though the AEA’s slide truly began in November 2010 when a Republican majority was elected to the Alabama Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction, overwhelming evidence of the organization’s unraveling come to the forefront just a month before Hubbert’s passing.

“With great reluctance, but with absolute conviction of its necessity, I write this letter to you to inform you of the immediate danger, in fact crisis, in which our association finds itself,” Hubbert wrote to the AEA Board in September of 2014. “AEA has been a strong organization for many years because of its large membership and its strong financial position. Both of these appear to be under threat now.”

Hubbert said the problems facing the AEA came from both inside and outside the organization. The external challenges, he believed, were posed by the Republican supermajority in the legislature and the strain on the AEA’s finances brought on by a new law prohibiting them and other politically active organizations from using taxpayer resources to collect membership dues.

Internally, Hubbert pointed the finger directly at his successor, Dr. Henry Mabry, who took over the post when Hubbert retired in 2012.

“The style, personality and performance of the Executive Secretary have created intolerable friction between AEA and members of both parties in the Legislature with resultant loss of respect, standing and influence,” Hubbert bluntly wrote of Mabry. “Legislators and others complain that telephone calls are not returned during the session. The Executive Secretary’s style has been described as a ‘bull in a china shop who carries the shop with him wherever he goes.’ The Executive Secretary has been advised to ‘stay out of the Legislature.’ Specific comments and questions from members of the Legislature include, ‘How long is AEA going to keep Mabry?’ to ‘Mabry is killing AEA in the Legislature.’”

Two months later the 2014 elections only strengthened Republican majorities, despite an estimated $20 million in teachers’ dues being used to support failed candidates.

“The AEA’s days are done,” said Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) on election night. “We want to work with the education community to establish good education policies. We’re committed to that. We want to make sure our teachers are paid well. We want to make sure they have great benefits. But we can do all of that without the AEA union. Their mentality is ‘attack, attack, attack.’ I want to work with our state’s teachers directly, not with the AEA.”

Hubbert’s concerns coupled with the union’s defeat at the ballot box proved too much for Mabry, when in February of this year he was summarily fired by the AEA board. The board also requested that the National Education Association, the AEA’s even more liberal umbrella organization, intervene to implement the regime change.

This summer that national-level intervention was called into question by longtime leaders within the AEA, who said the organization is being “occupied” by the NEA.

“This letter comes to express our deep concern over the current ‘Takeover’ of the Alabama
Education Association (AEA) by the National Education Association (NEA) in the name of Trusteeship,” wrote former AEA leaders and current Alabama Democratic Party bosses Joe Reed and Nancy Worley. “Under the facts and circumstances of the current ‘Takeover,’ there are no grounds for NEA to occupy AEA.”

“Don’t force us to fight an organization we love, respect and support,” the authors continued. “This is an ‘internal family issue,’ but the House is severely Divided. We all know that a House Divided cannot stand. It is going to take many years to repair the damage already done.”

Where the once-powerful AEA goes from here remains to be seen, but members say one thing is for certain: not much will improve until it can find a leader that balances the disparate interests of its leaders while working with the Republican supermajority and maintaining what’s actually best for education professionals.