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1) NEA Spent More Than $19.5 Million
on State Politics in 2010-11. If you were
following the NEA news last week, you already know that the delegates
approved a $10 per member increase to the national union's Ballot
Measure/Legislative Crises Fund. What you might not know is NEA just about
exhausted that fund in 2010-11.
The BM/LC Fund distributes funds to NEA
state affiliates to supplement their own issue spending on ballot
initiatives and bills working their way through various state legislatures.
NEA longer reveals which states received what amounts, but so many states
received funding it hardly matters.
NEA took in about $13.3 million in dues
money for the fund in 2010-11, and retained a carryover of more than $8
million from 2009-10, for a total of $21.3 million. However, the union spent
or promised that entire amount, and then some, in response to the myriad of
collective bargaining laws that were introduced.
NEA sent almost $9.4 million to 12 state
affiliates for ballot measure campaigns, and another $10.2 million to 19
state affiliates for legislative crises. Additionally, the union spent $2.5
million on "national lobby-campaign efforts related to ESEA
reauthorization." That adds up to $22.1 million.
Even with the size of this war chest
effectively doubled by the delegate vote, we can expect that much of the
money is spoken for. NEA will continue to fund litigation and organizing
efforts in Wisconsin, and will be a major player in the SB 5 referendum in
Ohio. Other states will be clamoring for money to support their battles to
preserve collective bargaining and pensions, and there is still the
possibility a new state or two will go to war over these issues.
It's extremely rare for NEA and its
affiliates to be outspent, but the union has never faced multiple
existential challenges before. I expect NEA to chalk up several big wins
over the course of the year, but the pressure to win everywhere on every
issue will cause a lot of wasted spending. But there's always more where
that came from.
2) Links to Last Week's NEA
Convention Coverage. EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from the NEA Representative
Assembly in Chicago (in chronological order):
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NEA Convention 2011: Why NEA Is Having Budget Problems. Addition by
subtraction.
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NEA Convention 2011: A New Reality. "We've worked to reduce benefits."
* NEA
Convention 2011: Theme Songs, Greedy CEOs and Hitler. Godwin's Law
invoked.
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NEA Convention 2011: Delegates Hate Duncan, Hate to Hate Obama.
"Weighing in?"
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NEA Convention 2011: Dereliction of Duty. I pass on the chance to hear
Joe Biden...
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Biden Their Time. ...which turned out to be a good decision...
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NEA Convention 2011: I Wasn’t the Only One Who Missed Biden’s Speech.
...and some delegates should have joined me.
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NEA Convention 2011: No Bombs for Teachers. It bombed.
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NEA Convention 2011: Obama Endorsement Passes Easily. Who needs whom?
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NEA Convention 2011: Political Assessment Increase Approved. Never in
doubt.
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NEA Convention 2011: The End of the Beginning. I guess it is
WWII.
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The Unnoticed NEA Policy Shift. NEA is no longer explicitly opposed to
merit pay. No, really.
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NEA Standing Strong With Everyone. Even Stan and Ollie are into it.
3)
Quote of the Week.
"We're
opposed to merit pay based on subjective measures. We're opposed to
performance-based pay based on test scores. We are not opposed to
performance-based pay methods that are bargained on the local level that are
not based on subjective measures."
- National Education Association president Dennis Van Roekel. (July 7
Huffington Post) |
