Thought the teachers union was your only option? Think again. In this Must Read Alaska Show, host Ben Carpenter is joined by Kenai teacher Kim Bates, Anchorage teacher Aimee Sims, and Garry Sigle, Central Region Director for the Association of American Educators (AAE), to unpack what AAE is, who it serves, and how it stacks up against NEA-Alaska.

If you’ve never heard of AAE, you’re not alone. While NEA-Alaska dues can run over $1,400 a year, AAE membership costs just $19.50 a month—about $234 a year. That’s a savings of more than $1,100 annually—money that stays in your pocket while still giving you day-one legal protection and $2 million in professional liability coverage, double what NEA provides. And because AAE is non-union and non-partisan, your dues go entirely to supporting you as a professional—not to political campaigns. You stay covered under your district’s negotiated contract, but without paying union prices.

You’ll also hear how substitutes, paras, bus drivers, and other W-2 school employees can join AAE (with a low-cost option for retirees), and why—after the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision—membership is a choice, not a condition of employment. If you want options that align with your values and your wallet, this energetic conversation is your roadmap.