In this battle between a despicable union and the despicable union’s union, the interests of one group of people — students — seem absent.
The staff of the National Education Association, the largest U.S. teachers’ union, went on strike during the union’s annual convention in Philadelphia.
“Striking staff members created a line in front of the Pennsylvania Convention Center before the second day of the assembly was to get underway, holding picket signs that they were ‘on strike to uphold union values,'” reported EducationWeek. “Staff members allege their access to work cellphones and accounts were cut, and that their return travel and hotel rooms were also canceled.”
The staff members are unionized with the National Education Association Staff Organization. NEA leadership initially resisted their employees’ being unionized but recognized the NEASO in the 1960s. The union claims to have over 350 members today.
The last labor contract between the NEA and the union expired at the end of May, and the NEASO had voted to authorize a strike in April. There had already been a one-day walkout at the NEA’s Washington, D.C., headquarters on June 20.
The NEASO went on strike on July 5, which halted the NEA’s annual convention, scheduled for July 4–7. President Biden was supposed to address the convention on July 7, the same day the NEA announced it would be locking out NEASO members.
“N.E.A. has abandoned its union values with its actions at the bargaining table,” said NEASO president Robin McLean in a statement to the New York Times. “N.E.A. would rather cancel a multimillion-dollar convention than comply with labor law.”
The NEA countered that the NEASO was spreading “misinformation” that “not only misrepresents the facts but also undermines the integrity of our ongoing efforts to honor a fair bargaining process.”
According to the NEA, the current average salary for NEASO members is $124,000. The NEA’s offer would raise that to $133,000. But the NEASO says that’s not enough. The average annual wage for an elementary school teacher, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is $70,740.
The NEASO says the NEA has denied employees holiday pay despite requiring them to work on July 4 for the annual convention. The staff union also says the teachers’ union has outsourced work to nonunion contractors.
“We have witnessed excessive, even exorbitant, spending on just the NEA president’s physical appearance,” McLean said in a statement to EducationWeek. The staff union says the NEA spent $8,500 for three days of hairstyling for President Becky Pringle.
In addition to her salary of $350,697, Pringle had $84,645 in allowances and $57,854 in disbursements for official business, bringing her total pay to nearly $500,000, according to the NEA’s 2023 disclosure form filed with the Department of Labor.
In 2023, the NEA reported having $375 million in total assets and $530 million in total receipts, 71 percent of which were from dues and agency fees. The next-largest source of revenue, comprising 25 percent, was the sale of investments and fixed assets.
Aside from cheering for further chaos, I’ll just note that in this battle between a despicable union and the despicable union’s union, the interests of one group of people — students — seem absent.