By Jennifer Proffitt, UFF President
The 154th National Education Association Representative Assembly (NEA RA) kicked off on Monday, July 4 and ended Thursday, July 7, 2016. The RA was also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the historic merger between NEA and the American Teachers Association (ATA), the union that represented Black teachers in segregated schools. The Assembly provides a forum for NEA members to shape the policies, activities, legislative agenda, and future of our union and is characterized by long hours of debates and decision-making punctuated by periods of inspiration and solidarity! Some highlights from the NEA RA include:
- Elizabeth Davenport, UFF Vice President and President of the UFF-FAMU Chapter, was elected NEA Director At-Large Higher Education! Congratulations!
- The Assembly kicked off with an emotional tribute to those affected by the tragedy at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The entire Florida Education Association Delegation wore #OrlandoUnited shirts in solidarity with our friends and family in Orlando. The Assembly voted to support a new business item that directs NEA to “implement an action plan to prevent acts of discrimination and violence targeted at people who are perceived or identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ).”
- The Assembly voted to support a new policy statement that challenges the school-to-prison pipeline and school discipline.
- Secretary Hillary Clinton spoke to the Assembly on July 5, and the delegates voted overwhelmingly to recommend her for President.
- Sen. Patty Murray (D., Washington) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tennessee) addressed the Assembly after receiving the NEA Friend of Education award for their “bipartisan collaboration” to replace the highly problematic No Child Left Behind with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
- Michael Buchler (UFF-FSU) and Jennifer Proffitt worked with higher education leaders across the nation to pass a new business item asking NEA to work through NEA’s member benefits to sever ties with Western Governors University, because, as Michael wrote in the justification for his new business item, “private, non-union Western Governors University lobbies state governors and legislatures to redirect public higher education (including financial aid funds) to WGU, replacing NEA members’ jobs with faculty-free ‘self-directed’ courses. WGU also outsources course creation to for-profit companies, circumventing faculty governance.” We had the unanimous support of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), an independent membership organization within NEA that advocates for higher education.
This year’s RA was long, intense, and worth every minute as Florida’s NEA members participated in the deliberations and represented the needs and aspirations of Florida educators. I would like to encourage UFF members to think about running for the position of NEA Delegate. The RA is an amazing experience as more than 7000 delegates work together to make key decisions, but it is also a critical exercise to ensure that NEA hears higher education voices.
For more information, please visit the 2016 RA site at http://ra.nea.org/
