The national teachers unions establish political and ideological agendas during their summer conventions. The National Education Association (NEA) annual meeting shut down early when the NEA’s staff union went on strike earlier this month. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) gathered in Houston for the 88th AFT Convention this week. 

Everyone loves the party game “Two Truths and a Lie.” Can you identify which of the three following statements about teachers unions’ summer conventions is a lie?

A. Teachers unions prioritize political power over real solutions for students and teachers.

B. The NEA and AFT exclusively represent teachers.

C. Delegates to the summer events voted dozens of new business items and resolutions.

Let’s take these statements one at a time: 

A. TRUTH. Both the NEA and AFT used their summer gatherings to mobilize union members to vote for union-endorsed candidates. Before the NEA annual meeting, President Becky Pringle told Education Week that she planned to instruct her members to pour resources into campaigns “from the school board level all the way up to the presidency.” According to the NEA, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris lead the “most pro-union administration in modern history.” The AFT’s first order of business during this week’s convention was to endorse Kamala Harris for president. AFT President Randi Weingarten wrapped up her State of the Union speech by yelling at delegates to mobilize to vote down tyranny, fascism, and an “existential threat to democracy” (i.e., vote for union-funded and -controlled candidates). 

B. LIE. In her speech at this week’s AFT Convention, President Randi Weingarten boasted about the 185 new local bargaining units and 100,000 members added to the teachers union since 2022. Few of the new members are teachers. Weingarten welcomed diagnostic imaging technicians, nurses, Planned Parenthood workers, doctors, and university employees; a reconfigured union of teachers and school staff in Fairfax County, Virginia was the only K-12 bargaining unit she highlighted. The AFT represents some of the nation’s K-12 teachers, but the Public Education unit is one of six divisions within AFT (others include AFT Nurses and Health Professionals and AFT Higher Education). Teachers are a fraction of the AFT’s 1.8 million members, and the AFT brags that it is “the second-largest nurses union and the fastest growing healthcare union in the nation.”

C. TRUTH. Technically, the NEA delegates only voted on a handful of new business items out of the over 100 proposed for consideration before the NEA Staff Organization (NEASO) launched a strike that shut down the NEA annual meeting after its first day. The NEA voted to prepare for strikes during the upcoming school year and to regularly update the “What to Know about State Anti-Trans Laws” section of the NEA website. The AFT plans to vote on 81 proposed resolutions covering primarily focused on issues unrelated to K-12 education, including foreign affairs, environmental issues, military readiness, and healthcare policies. Real solutions for teachers will not be prioritized at this week’s AFT Convention.

Bottom Line:

Teachers unions do not prioritize the urgent needs of the nation’s educators.