Education - National Education Association
by: Jerry Price - Aug 1, 2005 - comment
“Founded in 1857 ‘to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States,’ NEA has remained constant in its commitment to its original mission, as evidenced by the current mission statement:
To fulfill the promise of a democratic society, the National Education Association shall promote the cause of quality public education and advance the profession of education; expand the rights and further the interest of educational employees; and advocate human, civil, and economic rights for all.
What Is NEA’s Mission? (National Education Association) [Accessed April 12, 2005]
The National Education Association, through its state affiliates, is fighting members who have used federal antidiscrimination laws to stop their use of their union dues to support such things as abortion, homosexuality, and contraception.
Shawn Austin, a part-time school transportation secretary in Saranac Community Schools District near Lansing, Michigan, was ordered by a four-member local union committee to appear before them to convince fellow NEA members of her “bona fide religious-objector status.” The union has fought her request for two years.
At issue is the request of Mrs. Austin that most of her union dues go to charity instead of being used for the support of the NEA’s political and social causes. Her own local school board and superintendent have objected to the NEA’s handling of the case, but to no avail. Her right to direct her dues is in accordance with both the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The latter prohibits employers and labor unions from discriminating against workers on the basis of religion, including “all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief.”
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ruled that the 80 percent of Mrs. Austin’s union dues that would be used to support political and other activities not related to collective bargaining can be directed to a charity of her choice.
Bruce Cameron, an attorney for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, says that four state NEA affiliates “run religious objectors through a gauntlet.” Among those state affiliates, the Michigan Education Association is among the worst.
George Archibald, “Teachers Battle NEA Over Politics,” http://www.washingtontimes.com , April 27, 2004
In 2004, thousands of pro-life teachers and school staff who are required to belong to the NEA were offended by the organization’s support of the March for Freedom of Choice in Washington, D.C. The march was sponsored by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Civil Liberties Union, National Organization for Women, NARAL Pro-Choice America along with other liberal and feminist groups. The NEA provided a place of rest, access to restroom facilities, juice, and water to the marchers who advocate abortion.
NEA member Connie Bancroft, who teaches handicapped children in a middle-school in Mahoning County, Ohio, said the NEA should not be involved in such activities because they have nothing to do with education. “We’re supposed to be for children, and they say it’s OK to eliminate our very clientele. That’s hard to understand,” Bancroft said.
Bancroft is also executive director of Teachers Saving Children, a national group of some 3,300 pro-life educators that seeks “a commitment to establishing respect for all human life from conception to natural death, especially among professional educators’ organizations.” (Note: see their Web site at http://www.teacherssavingchildren.org/ohio/history.html where a quote from the NEA’s Resolution I-12 which details their position on abortion can be found.)
Other pro-life NEA members indicated that the union top management tilted toward abortion. One indication is that the NEA’s chief lobbyist, Randall J. Moody, also served on the Planned Parenthood Action Fund Federal Political Action Committee for three years. He was also a member of Planned Parenthood’s board of directors from 1995 to 2002.
George Archibald, “Pro-Life Teachers Angered by March,” http://www.washingtontimes.com , April 19, 2004
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