A December 1 memo from NEA headquarters to its representatives and state affiliates includes the talking points that are to be used when discussing the union’s 2006 U.S. Department of Labor financial disclosure report (LM-2) with the press. I publish them here in their entirety:
Talking Points: LM2
December 1, 2006
Background
* NEA has filed its 2006 Department of Labor (DOL) LM2 report. The report is approximately 500 pages of financial data required to meet recent DOL public disclosure guidelines. All LM2 data are made available to the public on the DOL Web site.
* Last year, by deliberately distorting data in the LM2 report, anti-union organizations launched a smear campaign against NEA.
* The Wall Street Journal published an editorial on January 3, 2006, questioning contributions/grants made by NEA to other advocacy organizations and highlighting the salaries of some governance leaders. Bill O’Reilly of FOX News Channel used the WSJ editorial to attack NEA on the January 3 broadcast of “The O’Reilly Factor.”
* It’s likely that these groups will attempt to launch similar campaigns this year.
Here are the facts:
* As part of its budget, NEA provided numerous grants/contributions to organizations who share its commitment to public education and to the human and civil rights of all Americans. NEA also underwrites the costs of many programs and initiatives designed to study and improve student achievement, teacher quality, working conditions for education professionals and the effects of federal funding cuts to No Child Left Behind and special education.
* NEA made over $73 million in grants this year, the overwhelming majority of which went to UniServ programs and our affiliates.
* NEA also has contributed to outside organizations that work on issues related to NEA’s core mission of protecting the basic right of every child to a quality public education. This year, NEA made grants to many of the same organizations as last year, including the Rainbow PUSH coalition ($5,000), Amnesty International ($5,000), People for the American Way ($10,000), Human Rights Campaign ($30,000), the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ($5,000) and the National PTA ($5,000).
* The fact of the matter is this: There is no greater friend to public education than NEA. Increasingly, there are efforts to undercut public education. Many pay lip service to improving education when it is convenient, but when the time comes to put their money where their mouths are — many fall short. NEA, however, spends its precious resources advocating for increased resources in the classroom and better salaries for the education professionals in our schools. And we provide grants to programs and organizations that do the same.
* NEA goes to great lengths to account for how our members’ dollars are spent. As you can see, all of our dollars are spent to fund programs and initiatives that support and improve public education.
* As it continues to recruit and employ highly qualified professionals in its headquarters and regional offices, NEA offers competitive salaries and benefits commensurate to the skills, credentials and experience of candidates. And, just as the teachers we represent are not paid at rates comparable to other professions, the NEA executive staff is paid less than executives in similar positions at other organizations.
* The figures quoted in the Wall Street Journal editorial last year — and similar figures that will likely appear this year — are gross exaggerations of NEA officers’ salaries. They include information such as travel expenses and reimbursements to the officers for the costs of relocating to Washington to serve, while keeping their houses at home.
# # #
