Sign Up For Updates
National Education Association
Our Vision
Our vision is a great public school for every student.
Our Mission
Our mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.
Our Core Values
These principles guide our work and define our mission:
Equal Opportunity. We believe public education is the gateway to opportunity. All students have the human and civil right to a quality public education that develops their potential, independence, and character.
A Just Society. We believe public education is vital to building respect for the worth, dignity, and equality of every individual in our diverse society.
Democracy. We believe public education is the cornerstone of our republic. Public education provides individuals with the skills to be involved, informed, and engaged in our representative democracy.
Professionalism. We believe that the expertise and judgment of education professionals are critical to student success. We maintain the highest professional standards, and we expect the status, compensation, and respect due all professionals.
Partnership. We believe partnerships with parents, families, communities, and other stakeholders are essential to quality public education and student success.
Collective Action. We believe individuals are strengthened when they work together for the common good. As education professionals, we improve both our professional status and the quality of public education when we unite and advocate collectively.
Blog Posts from National Education Association
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the 2012 State Summit this week -- we hope you found the panels helpful. We look forward to an exciting 2012 and welcome any suggestions you might have to make the next State Summit even better!
Summit is Almost Here!
The America Votes 2012 State Summit is only days away. Don't miss your chance to be a part of one the most important gatherings of progressives in 2012. Check out the State Summit page here.
- Action United
- AFL-CIO
- AFSCME
- America Votes
- American Association for Justice
- BISC
- Campaign for Community Change
- Clean Water Action
- Colorado
- Democracia Ahora
- Education Voters of America
- EMILY’s List
- Florida
- Fundraising
- Human Rights Campaign
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Keystone Progress
- League of Conservation Voters
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- NAACP Voter Fund
- National Education Association
- National Politics
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- OH - Budget, Business, and the Economy
- OH - Campaigns and Elections
- OH - Choice, Civil Rights, and Social Issues
- OH - Education
- OH - Environment, Energy, and Agriculture
- OH - Health and Seniors
- OH - Justice and the Courts
- OH - Labor
- OH - National
- OH - Top News
- Ohio
- Penn Environment
- Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania State Education Association
- Planned Parenthood Action Fund
- Polling
- Progressive Future
- ProgressNow Action
- Redistricting
- SEIU
- Sierra Club
- Summit
- United Food and Commerical Workers International Union
- USAction
- Wisconsin
- Women's Voices. Women Vote.
- Women’s Campaign Forum
- Working America
- Home Page
- Main Blog Page
Victory for Better Public Schools in Pennsylvania
A major part of Governor Tom Corbett's agenda, school vouchers, fell short of a majority in the Republican-controlled state House this week, meaning the legislation will be put off at least until the 2012 legislative session.
Republicans made a late push to pass voucher legislation before the end of 2011, but were unable to garner the needed support from either side of the aisle:
"On Wednesday night, the House, following a lengthy debate, voted 105-90 to reject a scaled-back education-reform plan that would expand the state's Education Improvement Tax Credit program and overhaul the state's charter school law.
House Republican leaders tried to keep their word on vouchers in the afternoon during an angst-filled caucus discussion. They offered several iterations of voucher plans of a smaller scale than the one that the Senate passed this fall.
"The votes are not there on either side of the aisle," said Steve Miskin, news secretary to House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, as he announced that the House leaders would shift their focus to the more limited school-reform package.
Members said opposition to even a limited pilot program - which would still be a major shift in public education - came from those opposed to diverting public dollars to private schools.
Others felt they did not want to talk about vouchers in an environment in which state aid to public schools is declining. Still others more clearly didn't want to risk the wrath of public school teachers - and their unions - and the parents of children in their hometown schools."
A Great Day in New Hampshire
Labor and progressive partners scored a huge victory in New Hampshire today, as the state House voted to uphold Governor Lynch's veto of the Right to Work bill. America Votes congratulates Labor, who worked so hard for months on this bill - and we thank the hundreds of volunteers who helped in this important effort.
The AV office in Concord became an impromptu campaign headquarters this morning, as volunteers streamed in once they got word that today might be the day the Speaker would call for a vote. More than 200 volunteers arrived at 7:00 am from labor unions and community allies. Volunteers created a strong, positive presence for legislators that are standing with us - lining the hallways, packing the gallery, greeting and thanking the Reps.
There was a whip team assigned to and track legislators to make sure they were there and in their seats. There was a boiler room used to run data for the whip team so we know where all of our legislators were and that the full whip team had all the info they needed. And there was a lobby team which was a group of lobbyist that have been working with the Reps since the beginning who were there for support if they are approached by the speaker and to answer questions.
Obviously, the fight continues, as Republicans in New Hampshire have vowed to bring the issue up again next year. But, for today at least, we congratulate you all and the folks in New Hampshire for a big win.
New Hampshire State Director Josiette White manning the First Aid station during today's day of action.
Collective Bargaining Law enacted today in WI
Today is the day that Wisconsin's collective bargaining law goes into effect. Right before public employees lose their rights to negotiate benefits and other terms of their employment, Gov. Scott Walker commented in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel saying he should have prepared the public for this law sooner to help ease some of the tensions that have erupted over it.
Walker says, however, that people should have been aware this was coming based on his campaign for governor in 2010. He doesn't see the elimination of collective bargaining rights as a rights issue at all, instead it's just "an expensive entitlement." Walker also doesn't see haw he ever attacked teachers, a group that has come out strong to protest the collective bargaining law, blaming it on them receiving misinformation from union leaders. Now that the law is enacted, recall elections are in motion to replace some of the legislators who voted for it. Read more of Walker's comments in the Journal Sentinel's article.
Florida Educators fight back against Scott
It’s shaping up to be the week of class action lawsuits, as the Florida Education Association has followed the women of Wal-Mart’s lead in filing a suit against Governor Rick Scott for now requiring 3% of public workers income to go into retirement funds. The FEA is arguing that Scott’s new law is unlawful and unconstitutional as it disregards the conditions that people who signed up to work for the state government agreed on when it came to their retirement funds. Mandatory contributions from public employees’ salaries have not been a requirement in Florida, but are now being seen as necessary to compensate for budget shortfalls.
There are currently two other lawsuits on the table for Scott in regard to his controversial election reforms and the executive order to randomly drug test state employees. This class action suit will not likely be the last that Governor Scott will have to deal with in the wake of the current reforms and cuts he's making. Read more here.
Education Reform Not Heading in the Right Direction
The school-choice movement, which encourages the use of a voucher system to help parents pay to send their children to private schools, is under heavy debate in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania where both governors are trying to pass laws that help provide these vouchers. Governor Corbett of Pennsylvania seems to think that the competition created between schools through a voucher system would increase the quality of education for most students. However when it comes to reforming the quality of education in America, it is better to start at the beginning, focusing on training and recruiting teachers.
Countries like China and Finland out-achieving the United States academically and a lot of that can be traced back to the differences in how their teachers are trained. In America we tend to fall back on the "Teach for America" model, which is designed to place graduates of strong colleges in the profession by making credentials easier to obtain. In Finland a master's degree in education is required to teach, and a lot of that course work is focused on studying pedagogy, which not all American teachers are getting.
Recruiting stronger teachers with more challenging programs of study will help elevate the level of education for American children, solidifying the foundation of the system, as opposed to the promise of competition, but not necessarily fundamental improvement in educational services created by a voucher system. "Vouchers have not decreased achievement gaps in Milwaukee or Wisconsin. Common sense and research suggest there is only one critical educational reform: quality teaching. Vouchers and quality teaching are not directly associated," Racine Unified Schools Superintendent James Shaw of Wisconsin said.
Stand Up For Workers; Union Plus Will Donate On Your Behalf!
Union Plus has issued a challenge to the supporters of labor. They will give $25 for every new Facebook fan and $25 for every Tweet using the #UnionPlus hashtag up to $100,000 to help America Votes fight back against the recent attacks on the labor movement.
Please help us spread the word! There are a few different ways to help:
1. Promote this challenge on your Facebook page! Ask fans to join the Union Plus Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/UnionPlus: For every new Facebook fan, Union Plus will donate $25 to the fund.
2. Tweet using the hashtag: #UnionPlus and include @UnionPlus - Union Plus will donate $25 for every new tweet with this hashtag.eg. "Stand UP for Workers: @UnionPlus just donated $25 to the State Battles Fund on my behalf just by tweeting this hashtag: #UnionPlus |#1u"
Union Plus supports the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain for fair wages, a safe work environment, and to have a strong voice in the workplace - and we're proud to back up our stance with a $100,000 donation to the America Votes State Battles Fund. The money will go toward opposing state legislation, ballot measures, and executive orders that attack the labor movement.
Please help us make this a success by kindly spreading this message to your supporters, family and friends on Facebook and Twitter!
ALERT: NH "Right to Work For Less" Up for Full State Senate Vote on April 20th
As expected, NH HB 474 - Right to Work for Less - passed the Senate committee on a party line vote (4 to 1). We expect the full senate will vote on Wed April 20th. We need your help to continue to oppose this extreme anti-worker agenda.
Continue reading to see how you can help in New Hampshire!
Here's how you can help:
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR: The senators are telling us that they need to hear from us! Take a minute between now and Tuesday to call and email your senator. You can find your senator's contact information here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/senatemembers.asp.
Key Message points:
• Include your name and address
• Ask the senator to vote NO on HB 474
• Tell them what type of work you do
• Include any of the following:
- Right to Work for Less is opposed by employers across the state. This isn't something employers are asking for and it isn't something employers want.
- Right to Work for Less doesn't create jobs - it isn't about rights and it's not about work.
- States with similar Right to Work for Less laws have higher rates of poverty, higher rates of unemployment and lower wages.
- Right to Work for Less is being pushed by out-of-state special interests. Right to Work for Less isn't right for New Hampshire
If you need help with your message, please contact us at protectnhfamilies@gmail.com.
JOIN A CANVASS: We are canvassing this weekend! We'll be out talking to voters about what is happening at the state house and asking them to contact their senator. These canvasses have been going great so far with a positive response from voters. Help us keep the momentum going!
Weekend Details
NASHUA: Join us on Saturday April 16th from 10 to 2pm or Sunday April 17th from 12:00 to 4:00 pm. We'll meet at the AFT hall at 7c Taggart Drive in Nashua. RSVP to john@nhforhealthcare.com.
CLAREMONT: Join us on Saturday April 16th from 10 to 2 pm. We'll meet at the Trinity Episcopal Church at 120 Broad Street in Claremont. RSVP to john@nhforhealthcare.com.
JOIN A PHONEBANK: Phone banks are up every day this week. RSVP to john@nhforhealthcare.com.
STATUS OF THE NH BILLS
HB 474 - Right to Work for Less legislation - passed out of the senate committee on a party line vote 4 to 1. The Senate committee stripped the damaging amendment added in the house. The full senate is expected to vote on a traditional Right to Work for Less bill on Wed. View the bill status report here.
HB 2 - part 2 of the state budget bill - was amended in committee to eliminate the right to collective bargaining. This budget bill as currently written is devastating for New Hampshire families, communities and tax payers and includes an underhanded assault on New Hampshire workers. The full house passed the budget (HB 1 and HB 2) Follow HB 1 here and HB 2 here. You can view a comparison of the Governor's budget and the house budget here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL 16th Nashua Canvass: Help us stop the reckless legislative attacks on New Hampshire families! The canvass will run for 10:00 - 2:00 and we'll meet at the AFT Hall at 7 C Taggart Drive, Nashua. RSVP to john@nhforhealthcare.com
APRIL 16th Claremont Canvass: Help us stop the reckless legislative attacks on New Hampshire families! The canvass will run for 10:00 - 2:00 and we'll meet at the Trinity Episcopal Church 120 Broad St Claremont. RSVP to john@nhforhealthcare.com
APRIL 17th Nashua Canvass: Help us stop the reckless legislative attacks on New Hampshire families! The canvass will run for 12:00 - 4:00 and we'll meet at the AFT Hall at 7 C Taggart Drive, Nashua. RSVP to john@nhforhealthcare.com
ON GOING: You can join the interfaith voices for a humane budget at the state house. Regular vigils are taking place at the State House. Learn more here.
SAVE THE DATE: The full senate is expected to vote on HB 474 on Wednesday April 20th. More details coming soon.
SAVE THE DATE: The full senate is expected to hold a hearing on the budget on April 21st. More details coming soon.
MORE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Letters to the Editor: We are working to inform voters and influence legislators with letters to the editor. We need your help to get the word out! Contact kehrenberg@aflcio.org for more information, templates or to let us know you sent a letter.
Contact the Senate: We need your help letting the NH Senate know that HB 474 is bad policy and bad for New Hampshire. Please ask your members and supporters to contact their senators and ask them to stand up for the middle class and oppose HB 474. Then let us know how they respond! If you need an action alert template or more information, please contact us at protectnhfamilies@gmail.com
BUILDING THE CAMPAIGN
We need your help bringing more allies to the table! We are looking to engage small business and employers, community organizations, and religious organizations across the state. You can help by talking to the businesses and organizations in your area. Materials to help you get the conversation started are attached. Please contact Josiette with any questions or suggestions to help us build the campaign at 603-545-4772 or jwhite@americavotes.org.
We are also looking to take the message out to your organizations. Schedule a presentation or request presentation materials by contacting Josiette at jwhite@americavotes.org or call 603-545-4772.
SPOTLIGHT ON RECENT NEWS AND LETTERS
Over 11,000 people have joined the campaign to Protect New Hampshire Families! Sign-on today and invite your neighbors, families and friends! Sign-up today by joining our Protect New Hampshire Families facebook page!
As always, you can donate to the fight across all of the states here.
Joan Fitz-Gerald Speaks at State Battles Fund Event
Yesterday, working men and women across the country came together in solidarity with those fightings for their rights in places like Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire and Indiana. Last night, progressives gathered for a State Battles event in Washington, D.C. to raise money to help fight the injustices taking place in these states and others. Below are some pictures of America Votes President Joan Fitz-Gerald speaking at the event. Thank you for all who helped make the event a success. For more information on the State Battles Fund, visit our State Battles 2011 page here.
"We Are One" Day of Solidarity
America Votes and its partners across the country will take part in a number of events today and continuing throughout the week to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s trip to Memphis, Tennessee, where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers demanding their dream: The right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life. The workers were trying to form a union with AFSCME. On that trip, Dr. King was assassinated. The pictures below are from today's rally in Washington, D.C.:
A Message from AV President Joan-Fitzgerald on the Struggle in Wisconsin
Dear America Votes Supporter,
As you watch events unfold in Wisconsin, please be aware that the very same scenario is ready to play out all across the Midwest. In many respects the Democratic members of the Wisconsin Senate that have fled the tyranny of their new governor are doing it for working people in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Indiana. But America Votes and our partners aren't going to let this happen without a fight (link to video).
If the right to collective bargaining is eradicated with the stroke of Governor Walker's pen, the core of the middle class will be at the mercy of hostile legislatures who can change the terms of their contracts and working agreements for any reason.
Our state director in Wisconsin has been working non- stop, without sleep, to coordinate the efforts to stop this bill from going forward. Phone banks have been set up and manned to get calls out informing people of the effort at the Capitol. Sites have been chosen for marches and demonstrations and America Votes' partner organizations are supplying the volunteers. We are proud to be a part of this effort to stop the erosion of worker's rights in Wisconsin.
America Votes' directors in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan are readying themselves and their partner organizations for this struggle as well. We have worked in these states for the past 7 years and can bring a broad coalition to stop this effort to undermine the middle class. Please help me today to bolster our work in these critical states. Your donation of will go a long way to support these people who are standing up for all of us. We are providing much needed water and food to volunteers.
As we are inspired by the resolve of the people of Wisconsin, we must be prepared in other states where these bills are ready to be introduced. Your help will strengthen our work, which allows greater coordination in this struggle.
In the words of Mother Jones who spent her entire life fighting for the dignity of the working man in the face of the murders of the Ludlow Massacre:
"Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living!"
In solidarity,
Joan Fitz-Gerald
President, America Votes
PA America Votes Partners in the News:
The latest news clips mentioning PA America Votes partners:
Details few on diesel used in Pa. fracking
Scranton Times-Tribune
Myron Arnowitt, the Pennsylvania state director for Clean Water Action said governments need to stop relying on the industry's voluntary disclosure of fracking chemicals. "Based on this report, we have no confidence that industry is cooperating with voluntary measures," he said and urged state environmental regulators to test the chemical composition of waste fluids from drilling and fracking …
Young Bux-Mont art students 'Touch the Future' The show, which is sponsored by the Mideastern Region of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the Council for the Advancement of Public Schools, began as a memorial to Christa McAuliffe …
Montgomery Newspapers
PA America Votes Partners in the News:
The latest news clips mentioning PA America Votes partners:
Report on environment critical of power plants
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat
"Our message is clear: Powering our homes should not poison Pennsylvania's families," said Matthew Ward, a western Pennsylvania field associate with Penn-Environment. "Mercury pollution from power plants puts our kids and our environment at risk, and we need the Environmental Protection Agency to force these facilities to clean up" ...
Battle Brewing Over Proposed School Vouchers For PA
Public News Service-PA
James Testerman, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest public-school employees' union, says 82 percent of public schools in the state met the federal standard for adequate yearly progress in 2010, and the voucher proposal turns its back on those that didn't ...
Philly parents long anticipated date with Ackerman approaching
Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Arlene Ackerman has agreed to a February 4 date for a public forum/meeting with interested parents and community members sponsored by ACTION United. In November, ACTION United repeatedly called District headquarters to get Ackerman to come to their annual Back to School rally ...
Dayle Steinberg, Planned Parenthood Southeastern PA, Op-Ed: Women's right facing threats
Philadelphia Inquirer
Women can continue to count on Planned Parenthood's strong voice of reason, its medical expertise, and its legacy of trust to ensure that our rights won't be compromised. Planned Parenthood faces the future with enormous hope and with a commitment to stand for women's reproductive rights, despite all odds ...
Jackson sees reconstruction as path to jobs, renewal, justice
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
One of the awards given was to a union group credited with saving jobs. Service Employees International Union Healthcare PA received the Grassroots Award for its 2009 campaign that rescued 400 jobs when pharmacy company Express Scripts threatened to close both of its facilities in Bensalem, Pa. But in her acceptance speech, Executive Vice President Kati Sipp issued a word of warning ... "The real reason for putting this together was the 72 workshops," said Michael Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress. "It's not enough to just be right. We have to be able to organize." Attendee Liz J. Hrenda, a UniServ representative of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said that, despite having been involved in unions "forever," including while working at Bethlehem Steel's Steelton plant for 10 years, she learned something in the workshops ...
PMC service workers union approves possible one-day strike
Pocono Record
Officials for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Pennsylvania said service and maintenance workers approved the strike after a meeting this week in which workers rejected hospital management's most recent contract proposal. Union officials said they've met with hospital management three times over the last two weeks. "We are totally, totally demoralized by what PMC is doing to us," said a tearful Madeline Vazquez, a secretary at the hospital and union negotiator. "We are people ..."
Unionized workers in Pennsylvania reject offer from Acme Markets
Philadelphia Inquirer
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 sent Malvern-based Acme a letter Thursday informing the grocer that Philadelphia-area members had voted "no" to the cash-saving maneuver Wednesday night, president Wendell Young IV said ...
Lawsuit filed over truancy fines
Lebanon Daily News
Churchill was joined at the news conference by Leticia Fuentes Keith, president of the Lebanon chapter of the NAACP, and Jerome Mondesire, president of the Pennsylvania NAACP, who called the district's truancy fines an "outrageously, discriminatory truancy punishment machine" ...
OH: AV Partners Coordinating Progressive GOTV Efforts
America Votes Development Associate Courtney Ryan blogs from Columbus, Ohio.
Empty pizza boxes. Loose campaign literature. Pens, folders and scissors strewn about. Poster-sized signs of volunteer shifts up on the walls. That's a snapshot of the America Votes coalition headquarters in Columbus, Ohio this afternoon. But more importantly, there are also a slew of dedicated volunteers and staff who have spent the majority of their time in this office for the past few weeks. They have lived and breathed progressive voter mobilization. The aim is clear -- to get out the vote in support of Governor Strickland and other progressive candidates across the Buckeye State, with a particular focus on Ohio State House candidates.
Upon walking into the Columbus office, the diversity of the America Votes coalition is immediately evident. Ohio Education Association canvassers are bustling in the office between canvass shifts, urging voters to vote early. The Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio have hosted a nightly phone bank here, and their volunteers are tireless in explaining why Ohioans should vote pro-choice. UFCW Local 1059 has had wonderful canvassers and volunteers here each day, organizing their members and helping out with anything that's needed. Dedicated staff and volunteers from Equality Ohio are preparing for weekend canvassing. The Rural Organizing Campaign, which is a coalition of 21 progressive state groups working to give rural Ohio a political voice, held a big rally in the northwestern part of the state yesterday to get rural voters enthused about voting. The energy of all these groups is contagious, and it's great to see them all working together as one. Ohio is truly fired up and ready to go.
There is a sense of urgency and an unspoken all-hands-on-deck policy that is also apparent. They all know how much different (read: worse) the state will be if conservative candidate John Kasich wins the race for Governor. Or if conservatives Jim Renacci and Steve Stivers win the U.S. House seats they're fighting for. Or if we don't win the Ohio State House.
I'm really looking forward to working with these groups for the next few days. Tomorrow is a day affectionately known as "Packet Land"; we will be assembling packets of lists for canvassers who will be knocking doors throughout the area this Saturday through Election Day.
Stay tuned for more reports from the Buckeye State.