Follow AAE on:
Subscribe to RSS Feed:
| 2014 Election Recap: A New Future for Education on the Horizon, AAE Weighs In |
| posted by: Alana | November 14, 2014, 05:32 PM |
|
What does $60 million buy you? Apparently not votes. The National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the country, is notorious for gouging its members for additional dues and political contributions during election years. In an effort to elect Democratic candidates and preserve their status quo agenda, the NEA spent millions on the 2014 midterm elections with disastrous results. Some of the more notable races include Rhode Island, where Democrat Gina Raimondo was elected despite having made changes to underfunded pensions as state treasurer, and Wisconsin, where Scott Walker, who was a top target of the unions because he ended forced unionism, also won his bid for reelection. The same trend was seen all across the U.S. including states like Illinois, Maine, Georgia, and Kansas. All of which elected candidates who promote policies that the union opposes. Remarking on the losses, NEA President Lilly Eskelsen Garcia said, “We knew this was going to be an uphill battle, but I don’t think anybody on our side anticipated going over the falls like this.” Regardless of your political leanings, teachers across the country have grown increasingly frustrated by the political spending of the teacher unions. AAE recently told Watchdog News, “The members we welcome are certainly sick of being political pawns in that game and are not interested in funding partisan causes or candidacies, and they’re not interested in being told how to vote.” In recent years, AAE has welcomed thousands of members eager to embrace non-partisan, reform-minded advocacy. Now that the dust has settled on the 2014 elections, we look forward to working with elected officials on the national, state, and local levels. The fact is an authentic teacher voice is critical in achieving common-sense reform. Our members have valuable experience to bring to the policy table and we look forward to representing their views. Comments (1)
 |
Sign up for AAE Emails
Blogroll
- American Board (ABCTE)
- Edspresso (CER)
- Eduwonk
- Flypaper (Fordham)
- Intercepts (Mike Antonucci)
- Jay Greene
- Joanne Jacobs
- Joe Williams (Democrats for Education Reform)
- National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
- Politics K-12 (EdWeek)
- Road to Teaching
- Teacher Beat (EdWeek)
- InformED (AIR)
- This Week in Education
AAE, Thanks for representing teachers.