Active and retired West Hartford Education Association members and their guests came together at the Noah Webster House Friday night to celebrate their union’s 50th anniversary. At the podium is WHEA President Ted Goerner.

West Hartford has a long reputation as a town with great public schools. On Friday night, West Hartford Education Association members gathered together to celebrate what they say plays a large part in the success of West Hartford Public Schools—the strength of their union.

This month marks 50 years since West Hartford teachers selected the West Hartford Education Association (WHEA) as their sole representative in negotiations before the board of education under Connecticut’s recently passed collective bargaining law. The WHEA began as a professional organization of teachers back in the 1920s, but it wasn’t able to have a decisive voice in advocating on behalf of students and teachers until Connecticut teachers gained those bargaining rights.

The…