Union Report: The Sad Triviality Of The National Education Association’s Annual Conference

Union Report: The Sad Triviality of the National Education Association’s Annual Conference

Every year, the National Education Association (NEA) holds its Representative Assembly (RA), which is considered the union’s most significant decision-making body. The RA also takes pride in being the largest democratic deliberative body in the world. The main focus of the convention is usually on New Business Items (NBIs), which are action items with specific purposes and outcomes, distinct from the union’s resolutions that express beliefs.

To bring an NBI to the floor for debate, the easiest way is to obtain signatures from 50 delegates, which is quite achievable considering the RA typically has 7,000 delegates in attendance.

The NBIs submitted this year covered a wide range of topics, some unrelated to education or labor. In total, 159 NBIs were presented, potentially breaking previous records. However, rather than examining the specific issues, it is more interesting to look at how the delegates handled them and the specific actions they proposed for the NEA’s officers and staff.

By my calculations, the delegates approved 79 items, while 46 were referred to committees without a specific recommendation. Here is a breakdown of the actions that the delegates called for (some NBIs included multiple actions):

– 35 NBIs requested that NEA share information with its members through existing communication channels.

– 21 NBIs required substantive actions, such as launching a media campaign, devising model legislation, creating a toolkit, establishing partnerships, or expanding training opportunities.

– 15 NBIs directed NEA to publish an article or write a letter.

– 12 NBIs asked NEA to conduct research reviews or compile lists.

– 9 NBIs addressed internal union operational matters or the convention process itself.

– 2 NBIs mandated that NEA reach out to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for a response to a letter.

Every year, NEA publishes a report on how it has implemented the previous year’s NBIs. This report typically includes links to articles or editorials posted on the union’s various online platforms. Essentially, the world’s largest democratic deliberative body operates similarly to a massive editorial staff meeting.

Only a few NBIs touched upon NEA’s internal policy-making practices, particularly the procedures for endorsing U.S. presidential candidates. These NBIs were all referred to the relevant committees responsible for potential reforms.

None of the NBIs addressed the potential consequences of the loss of agency fees. Moreover, there were no requests for a review of NEA’s campaign strategy or expenditures in the 2016 elections. Due to the lengthy NBI debates, there was also no floor debate on NEA’s $367 million budget.

While the NEA will not be idle during the upcoming school year, the most significant decisions and actions will be made by the 12 union officers serving on the NEA Executive Committee, rather than solely by the "highest decision-making body."