While the National Education Association is used to being behind teacher strikes across the country, it has been gripped by the effects of a strike from its own staff for nearly two weeks as labor negotiations unfold.
The NEA locked out its professional staff, represented by their own union called the National Education Association Staff Organization, beginning on Monday, and employees at the union’s Washington, D.C., headquarters demonstrated outside.
The beginning of the strike that preceded the staff lockout at the nation’s largest teachers union disrupted the organization’s national conference and forced President Joe Biden to cancel a planned speech there earlier this month.
The intraunion strike comes just a few months before the election, and teachers’ unions, often more noteworthy for their outsize power in Democratic politics than actual education advocacy, are facing down a Republican Party that has in recent years capitalized on the education issue. This year, Republicans made K-12 education a significant portion of their party platform in a change from previous platforms.
The NEA has already contributed over $2 million to Democrats and another nearly $8 million to left-wing organizations this cycle, putting just over $37,000 behind Republicans and zero dollars into conservative groups, according to OpenSecrets.
Roughly 300 staff members are currently not receiving pay or benefits as contract negotiations continue. NEA staff union members have not had a contract since the end of May.
A spokesperson for the NEA staff union told the Washington Examiner that was not on strike and described the NEA’s lockout as “illegal … punitive and retaliatory.” Noting the NEA staff union filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint against the NEA, bringing the total number of such complaints against the NEA to five since the previous contract ended in May, the spokesperson said, “We are locked out by the National Education Association, our employer, which is now the subject of an Unfair Labor Practice charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board.”
Striking NEA staff union members in the nation’s capital yesterday lined the sidewalks outside the NEA building with chalk messages saying “Shame on NEA,” “Practice what you preach,” “Why lock out your staff?” and other messages.
NEA staff union members have received letters of support from other unions, including media, education, and professional staff organizations.
However, the NEA said that its staff union members have walked off their jobs twice in “unprotected strikes” under the NLRB rules and cost NEA members, such as teachers, bus drivers, and custodians, money they saved to travel to attend the four-day Representative Assembly, which was disrupted by the strike by the union’s staff.
“Even worse, to create maximum disruption, NEASO waited to walk off the job until many members had dropped off their children at an NEA-provided childcare program in the convention center,” an NEA spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “NEA responded immediately to ensure that every single child in our care was reunited with their parent or guardian. This was completely unacceptable on NEASO’s part.”
“As NEA members and students across the country prepare to go back to school, we cannot allow NEASO to continue disrupting the work of our members through intermittent unprotected strikes under the NLRA,” the spokesperson added. “To best protect the interests of our members, the Association, and our staff, we have made the difficult decision to institute a protective lockout of the NEASO-represented employees to safeguard NEA’s operations.”
Tensions rose after the NEA staff union launched its second walkout this summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 5, triggering the cancelation of the conference at which Biden was supposed to speak. The president refused to cross the picket line.
By July 8, the NEA closed its office to the striking employees, which prompted rallies for two days.
“They have tried to paint the picture of NEASO as being disrespectful. They have tried to paint the picture of NEASO being individuals who are greedy,” NEA Staff Organization President Robin McLean said at a July 10 rally. “They look at us like we are not humans. They have bars on the doors so you can’t get in. Who does that?”
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The contract negotiations deal with wages, a 4% annual raise, and annual salary step increases after a 12-year freeze of the benefit.
“NEA cares deeply about our members, the students they serve every day, and all the dedicated staff who work to advance the NEA mission,” the NEA spokesperson said. “We have always bargained in good faith and remain fully committed to and respect the collective bargaining process. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that NEASO does not share that same commitment.”
