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Content: Recently surpassing the
Teamsters in size, the NEA has over 2 million members, making it
the largest union in America. Past Secretary of Education Lamar
Alexander once said that, "After the post office, schools are the
most unionized activity in America. "(1)
Actually, the NEA is an interesting mixture of union, insurance
company, and political party. In the 1960s the NEA, which was
founded in 1857 as a professional association, was transformed into
a labor union. Since then, it has placed much more emphasis on
monetary issues and political power than on educational theory and
practice. One example is its association with the Prudential Life
Insurance Company. The NEA receives about $10 million a year, or
30% of the premiums members pay for NEA marketed insurance.(2) In
the political realm, national and state affiliates have been
spending tens of millions of dollars to influence legislation
across the country. Although William Bennett referred to the NEA as
the "heart and center of the Democratic Party," it is active in
both national political parties.(3) In the past, it has boasted of
having more delegates at both the Democratic and Republican
national conventions than any other organization. Now let's turn our focus to the influence of the NEA on the
educational community and the nation at large. Social Issues
In the NEA's magazine NEA Today, a recent article about gay
rights describes the case of a teacher who had been beaten and
robbed by a man he had just met on a city street after inviting him
to his home for sex.