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The American Engineering Alliance (AEA) was incorporated in New York on December 11, 1995.
The AEA was formed in response to a need. The Engineering Profession has been on a downward spiral since the heydays of the 70's when there was an abundance of Engineering projects. Because of the great demand for Engineering services, salaries and fees were adequate at that time.
In recent years, however, globalization and the trend toward downsizing and outsourcing have taken a severe toll on our Profession. The Engineering Profession is completely at the mercy of market forces over which Engineers have no control. We are ruled by the law of supply and demand, and subject to the ruthless competitive forces that govern the marketplace for Engineering services. Given the above state of affairs it is understandable that the Profession is demoralized and under siege. There is a lot frustration, anger, resentment and fear in the Profession. Engineers across the board do not reap the rewards of their many years of study, experience and knowledge. They carry a heavy burden of responsibility but are not adequately compensated for it. Instead of being handsomely rewarded for their significant contributions to Society, Engineers are subject to low salaries and fees, unprofessional work environment, lack of respect and recognition, and an insecure economic future.
AEA was created to address the serious problems facing our Profession. AEA was designed to be a national organization and to be the standard bearer for the Profession. AEA is not just another Engineering Society. Its By-laws were carefully crafted to make AEA nimble, responsive and efficient. AEA is focused on attaining results. The organization is structured to respond quickly to challenges to the Profession. AEA is pro-active rather than reactive. It aspires to be a major player in the political arena wielding power and influence for the good of the Profession and Society.
It is not our purpose to compete with the long-standing Societies. However, we do want to secure for all Engineers and the Engineering Profession, what these other organizations have not been able to achieve, namely recognition and a better social and economic status.
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AEA was designed to be a mass organization comprised of individual Engineers (no company memberships). It welcomes all Engineers, from young Engineers and Engineering students to partners and owners of Engineering firms. There are approximately 3 million Engineers in the United States. AEA's goal is to represent all of them. The rationale for this is that all individuals in technical fields have common interests and share similar concerns such as low pay and lack of recognition. Bringing Engineers under the banner of AEA makes a lot of sense since there is strength in numbers. The classic example of this is AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). Because AARP has over 35 million members, it has tremendous political clout. In fact, Congress will not touch many government programs, such as social security and Medicare, which affects senior citizens. Without always realizing it, the Public has a critical interest in improving the quality of their infrastructure.
The typical member will be a graduate from an ABET recognized Engineering program. In addition, AEA offers non-voting Associate Membership to those in allied technical fields such as scientists, technologists, and technicians (e.g., NICET grades), and others interested in promoting our objectives. AEA also offers student and international membership. Both of these classes of membership are non-voting. AEA is governed by a Board of Directors made up of 6 volunteer members. The Board is empowered by the By-laws to hire a President to execute the policies of the Board. The President is a full time paid officer of AEA. He/she serves at the pleasure of the Board. His/her longevity as President will depend on how effectively he/she achieves the objectives of AEA and carry out the mandates of the Board. The President is fully accountable to the Board and will be dismissed if he/she does not produce results. The Board is also authorized to hire an Executive Director who will carry out the day-today operations of AEA. This is a full-time paid position. The Executive Director will have a staff to assist him/her. Presently the position of President and Executive Director are vacant. As soon as AEA membership grows sufficiently (approximately 40,000 members) we will be able to fill these positions
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