Civics: Teacher Union Funds and Political $pending
One lesson she brings from her time in Virginia is that when she focused on the issues, there were allies to be found in unexpected places.
At the time, Virginia had a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled general assembly. She worked on building coalitions across the aisle and emphasized that public education is for everyone. With the midterms rapidly approaching, Moss said she’s bringing that mentality to the NEA.
“Talk about your students”
“We’re telling our members: ‘Talk about your students. What do your students need?'” she says. “Don’t make it a Democrat or Republican issue.”
Michael Petrilli, the president of the right-leaning think tank the Fordham Institute, isn’t quite so convinced: “Look, that would be a huge departure for the NEA,” he says. “They have been stalwart supporters of the Democratic Party and vice versa.”
In 2020, the NEA recommended Joe Biden for the office and in 2024 issued a formal endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Petrilli has long held reservations about the nation’s teachers unions, saying their positions often block meaningful changes to teaching and perpetuate strict salary rules that can make it hard to recruit and fill certain jobs. But he says he’s open to seeing where things go this year, especially with many state-level races leaning in the direction of the union’s longtime allies — Democrats.
“This is going to put the unions in a very good position to be able to drive education policy,” he says. “I think this is the question: What are they going to do with that power? What are they going to push these Democratic governors to get done?”
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WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Morris Andrews notes and links.
