The Affiliate That Shall Not Be Named
Since I arrived here, I’ve heard a lot of talk about the situations with NEA affiliates in Arizona, California, Ohio, and the non-collective bargaining states, but nothing about a state affiliate experiencing a multi-million dollar debt, a busted insurance trust, former employees under a cloud of suspicion of corruption, an NEA trusteeship, a headquarters building up for sale, a lifting of charter school caps, and a brand new tuition tax credit for contributions to private school scholarships for low-income students.
The Indiana State Teachers Association has had a rough 2009, and one might think it would be worthy of discussion by NEA’s ultimate policymaking body. Surely there must be some delegates wondering about the oversight of other state affiliates’ insurance trusts and subsidiaries, and the extent of the national union’s exposure and liability.
Of course, there are constraints at a four-day annual meeting, and there has to be enough time to discuss items like NBI 70, which states, “The NEA shall be aggressive in seeking for its members major discounts at nationally recognized health clubs at the state and local levels.”
