National Education Association

From Freepedia

The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States, representing most of the country's teachers along with other school personnel. The NEA has 2.7 million members and is headquartered in Washington DC, and has an annual operating budget of around $150 million. Reg Weaver is the current president. Traditionally a professional organization, it is not a member of the AFL-CIO unlike its smaller rival the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

History

The NEA was founded by Robert Campbell as the National Teachers Association in 1850, and changed to its present name in 1857. It was chartered by Congress in 1906.

In 1998, a proposed merger with AFT failed when that union's annual meeting rejected it. The two organizations continue to cooperate through the "NEAFT Partnership."

Politics

In recent decades the NEA has greatly increased its visibility in party politics and political issues. In choosing to issue endorsements for successive Democratic Party candidates for president of the United States and aligning its vast resources overwhelmingly behind that party's candidates at all levels it has come in for criticism by members and others at odds with its political evolution.

In addition, activist positions taken against many of the education reforms of Republican administrations have led to conflict. On February 23, 2004, United States Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the NEA a "terrorist organization" over the union's position on the No Child Left Behind initiative of the George W. Bush administration and its opposition to other reforms favored by the Republicans. Secretary Paige later stated that it was an inappropriate choice of words, but upheld his original argument. Nevertheless, the NEA called for Paige's resignation.

Charges of partisan political activity have led to demands for investigation regarding the use of union monies and the union's compliance with Internal Revenue Service regulations.