It is important to distinguish the fact that this money is not from the NEA political action committee, rather directly comprised of NEA member dues. Despite claims from the union that member dues stay local, the complete list speaks volumes about where member dues are going.
Regardless of the fact that polls find NEA members lean conservative politically, the astronomical amount of money the NEA spends on partisan political issues is astounding. Regardless of political leanings, the NEA claims to have a mission that exclusively supports teachers. How does funding these groups advance and support professional educators? Are teachers polled on where to spend member dues?
It is critical that teachers everywhere understand where their hard earned money is going. NEA members across the country directly support these groups through their dues. For more information on how the NEA supports partisan politics read Powerful Failure.
At AAE we pride ourselves on operating on a lean budget to exclusively spend membership dues on liability insurance and professional benefits. We do not support partisan politics and do not take positions on issues unrelated to education. Let a teacher know that they do have a choice. Join AAE today.
Take a moment to peruse the list for yourself. Would you want your money going to these groups?
AFL-CIO – $1.15 million Alliance for Justice – $5,000 America Votes – $376,100 America Works – $250,000 American Bridge 21st Century – $200,000 American Constitution Society – $10,000 American Sustainable Business Council Action Fund – $15,000 Asian American Justice Center – $10,000 Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance – $5,000 Be the Change – $100,000 Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs – $10,000 California Community Foundation – $6,000 Campaign for America's Future – $20,000 Center for American Progress – $35,000 Center for Economic Organizing – $12,800 Center for Teacher Leadership – $63,178 Center for Teaching Quality – $120,767 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – $50,000 Citizens Helping Heroes – $10,000 Citizens for Tax Justice – $15,000 Committee for Charlotte 2012 – $250,000 Committee for Education Funding – $17,713 Committee on States – $25,000 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. – $70,000 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute – $55,000 Council of State Governments – $6,000 Daily Kos – $30,000 Democracy Alliance – $235,000 Democratic GAIN – $10,000 Economic Policy Institute – $250,000 Educating Maryland Kids – $200,000
Education Writers Association – $10,500
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate – $200,000
Excelencia in Education – $10,000
Fair Districts Now – $478,000
Fair Elections Legal Network – $50,000
Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network – $7,500
Good Jobs First – $15,000
Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice – $250,000
Health Care for America Now! – $125,000
HEROS, Inc. – $100,000
Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund – $25,000
Idahoans for Responsible Education Reform – $1,042,000
Initiative for Responsible Investment – $5,000
Japanese American Citizens League – $5,000
Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy – $9,300
Kansas Values Institute – $49,950
Keep It Local North Dakota – $135,000
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – $25,000
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights – $5,000
Learning First Alliance – $91,200
Learning Forward – $25,000
Marylanders for Marriage Equality – $50,000
MediaMatters – $100,000
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund – $10,000
Montanans for Fiscal Accountability – $25,555
Moving South Dakota Forward – $225,000
NAACP – $11,000
National Action Network – $25,000
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund – $5,000
National Black Justice Coalition – $20,000
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation – $5,000
National Conference of State Legislatures – $31,385
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education – $202,646
National Hispanic Leadership Institute – $25,000
National Public Pension Coalition – $135,000
National Women’s Law Center – $10,000
Netroots Nation – $15,000
New Hampshire Unity Table Fund – $50,000
Ohio Democratic Party – $150,000
Organizations Concerned About Rural Education – $5,000 Opportunity to Learn Action Fund – $300,000 Parent Teacher Home Visit Project – $58,353 Partnership for 21st Century Skills – $35,000 Patriot Majority PAC – $100,000 People for the American Way – $135,000 Progressive Majority – $50,284 Project Love Remember the Children Foundation – $250,000 Project New West – $140,000 Protect Maine Votes – $81,500 Public Education Defense Fund – $1 million Quality Education and Jobs – $50,000 Republican Main Street Partnership – $25,000 Ripon Society – $10,000 Robert Russa Moton Museum – $50,000 SEIU – $15,333 Taxpayers in Support of Public Education – $30,000 TIDES Foundation – $100,000 University of Colorado Boulder Sponsored Project – $250,000 U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute – $100,000 Voces de la Frontera – $23,515 Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation – $166,666 We Are Ohio – $4,568,000 Wellstone Action – $30,586
Do you think this is a wise use of membership dues? Comment below.
Originally posted by Ruthie at AAE.
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