NEA: Dues up, membership down
Eagle Forum
Full-time union teachers
will pay $179 in national dues
for the 2013-14 school year. This is in addition to dues paid to their state
affiliate; for Ohio Education Association members, state dues are an additional
$508. Ohio is
not a right-to-work state, so most teachers must join the union. In Virginia, a
right-to-work state, fewer than 20% of teachers join the union.
While the NEA is still the largest workers union in
the nation, membership is down. Some teachers choose to quit the union as state
laws change to allow this. The
union is more socially liberal than the majority of teachers and some do not
subscribe to the radical union agenda. Union President Dennis Van Roekel still
claims three million NEA members, but the modified 2013-14 NEA Strategic Plan
and Budget predicts 2,410,200
full-time members.
Of those, 1,685,000 are
“active teaching professionals.” The balance is made up of those who do not pay
as much in dues as teachers such as education support professionals, staff,
substitutes, retired, and student members. Total NEA annual dues amount to over
$347 million.
The union Executive
Committee received a 3% bonus at a time when other budget areas are being cut.
Some union members were unhappy about this. Delegates at the 2013 convention
passed New Business Item 47, which demands that union leadership provide
justification for any future bonus they receive.
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