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“There's no alternative to political involvement. Instruction and professional development have been on the back burner for us, compared to political action.” -NEA President Mary Hatwood Futrell, Los Angeles Times, 1982 POLITICAL ACTIVITY As with most labor unions, the NEA has decidedly lined up on the left and in coordination with the Democratic Party. The March 2009 letter to U.S. Senators regarding the Washington, DC Opportunity Scholarship Program makes that clear. But the NEA doesn’t just simply fund liberal candidates. They cavort with the fringes of the Left. Democratic Party The NEA, and its state affiliates are major players to the Democratic Party, thanks in large part to the huge financial contributions to it as an organization, as well as its candidates. Thus, it plays a key role in setting the policy agenda for the party. The NEA created a step-by-step manual to encourage members to get more involved in the Republican Party. The theory likely is if the NEA can have a bigger say there as well, it can have a bigger impact on the positions taken by the party as a whole. But, according to the Wall Street Journal, as much as 95% of political contributions from the NEA consistantly go to Democratic candidates. But that seems to be out of step with where its membership is as individual Americans. Former NEA president Reg Weaver has said repeatedly that the NEA's membership is divided by thirds between Democrats, Republicans and Independents. But internal polling may paint a different picture. A study of NEA voters in the 2004 revealed different numbers.From an NEA briefing:
The research found support personnel employees were nearly evenly split between Kerry and Bush, while a two-thirds of teachers voted for Kerry. Perhaps that's why the NEA and its affiliates equate any criticism of its organization and tactics as automatically being from the Republican Party.That way, it can steer more of its members into voting for Democrats. NALPSE The NEA manages a group called the National Association of Legislative and Political Specialists for Education--a group comprised of "professional staff members of state education associations and the National Education Association whose assignments are in the field of legislation, government relations, political action and political education," according to an Operating Guidelines document leaked from the NEA. The organization has apprently held annual meetings to discuss new organizing strategies, NEA-targeted swing states, and post-election polling to explain the NEA's impact on voters. Three documents we obtained are two post-election polls (2004 and 2008) as well as a 2007 poll of young voters heading into the 2008 election. ACORN In the last two years, the NEA has given at least $300,000 to the liberal community organizer group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). ACORN is accused of voter registration fraud in 14 states, the precise activity the NEA funded, according to its financial records.
In 2006, the NEA partnered with ACORN to support the 100-Hour Agenda to“increase the minimum wage” and “repealing tax breaks for big oil.” In 2009, the NEA played host to the ACORN’s 39th Anniversary Gala, as evidenced by the invitation. Click the picture to see a full version. And along with ACORN and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the NEA paid $500,000, the required amount, to be on the steering committee of Healthcare for America Now. HCAN has been organizing counter-demonstrations around the country in support of the government takeover of health care. HCAN is in support of the “government option,” which is ironically what many of the NEA’s members would end up on as contracts expire. HCAN is also in support of “A truly inclusive and accessible health care system in which no one is left out.” Nowhere in its platform does it mention “American” or “citizen.” The NEA supports taxpayer-paid health care for anyone that can make it into the country. Other controversial non-education positions At its recent convention, the NEA took a firm stand in support of gay marriage. Not civil unions, but marriage. According to Tips-Q, the NEA passed a resolution, which, among other things, says:
In Michigan, a state that banned same-sex marriage, the NEA affiliate Michigan Education Association has issued sample contract language to negotiate for “Other Qualified Adult” benefits. OQA has been coined to distinguish itself from “domestic partner” the document says. 2009 New Jersey Gubernatorial Analysis At the conclusion of the 2009 New Jersey race for governor, pitting challenger Chris Christie against Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine, the New Jersey Education Association produced an analysis of its activities to sway the election to Corzine. That PowerPoint analysis, in PDF format, was sent to NEAexposed.com and is made available unedited.
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