NEA RA attendees.
Vice President Joe Biden made an appearance at the NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago to make sure educators know that the Obama administration “stands for education and it stands with labor.”
“One thing you should not have any doubt in your mind about is that Barack Obama is on your side,” Biden told some 12,600 participants, 1,200 of whom were voting delegates representing CTA members. “We will fight alongside you.”
Biden said Obama believes it’s “your fundamental right to collectively bargain, not just about your wages and benefits, but about the environment in which you work: the size of your classrooms, the mix of special education students in the classroom, the competency of the administrators in your schools, after-school programs. It’s about working conditions, but unlike almost any other organization, your fight is our children’s fight. Your fight is about our children. Your fight is about giving them the best chance.”
During the four-day policy-making session, delegates voted to:
- Recommend President Obama for a second term in office.
- Increase NEA’s crisis fund to help affiliates combat anti-union and anti-public education movements at the local and state level.
- Adopt guidelines for an evaluation and accountability system that focuses on enhancing the practice of teaching instead of identifying teachers for dismissal.
For more information on the annual meeting, visit www.nea.org/ra.