by Monica Rice
Monica Rice attending the annual NEA Human Rights Dinner and Awards Ceremony with Mikki Cichocki, CTA's Secretary-Tresurer
I had the pleasure of representing BTA at the NEA in July 2011 in Chicago at McCormick Center. The days were very long and full of articulate, sometimes very emotional, debates. It was beautiful to see so many people both agree and disagree with each other in such a professional and democratic manner. Spending several hours working through the democratic process was a great way to celebrate the 4th of July.
The issue over eight thousand educational representatives from all across America had the most emotional and heated debate was the endorsement of Obama for President in the 2012 election. During State Council and the California Caucus there was a lot of discussion about this endorsement; you might have even heard the discussion taking place at you schools and living rooms at home.
Historically we have not endorsed a candidate until the election year. Each labor party has their own bylaws that allow them to endorse candidates in their own manner. Some unions can endorse political candidates by a vote of their executive board. NEA’s bylaws dictate that we can only endorse a candidate through our annual RA. One of the big arguments was against an early endorsement of Obama.
The welcome sign for the over eight thousand attending the NEA conference at the McCormick Center in Chicago.
Many members believed that there was no need for an early endorsement and that by giving this early endorsement we are forgiving the poor educational decisions that have been made by the current administration. A prevailing argument against that line of thinking is that if we wait what will we gain? If we wait how much mud will be slung against Obama? We cannot afford to have a president who believes in privatizing education.
Representatives participated in several phone town hall meetings prior to the RA. The president of NEA, Dennis Van Roekel, reminded us during one of those town hall meetings, that we share a common belief in the direction of public education with President Obama. We agree that some action taken by the current administration is not completely in step with our vision for education.
BTA Organizing Committe Chair, Monica Rice with CTA Vice President, Eric Heins
However, Van Roekel urged us to look past our differing perspectives and look to what we want public education to become. President Obama and the NEA both agree that all kids have a right to excellent public education.
There were several long debates and different opinions were given the opportunity to be heard. With 72% in favor, the motion to endorse President Obama for the 2012 presidential election passed the RA floor. Dani Tucker, President of Hacienda La Puente Teachers Association, urges caution in reading the result, “Let’s all remember, that while 72% is an overwhelming (percentage of support), it’s very low for a Democrat in a re-election campaign, by RA standards.”
With 3.2 million NEA members, we cannot expect to always agree on everything. We do however agree that public education is and should always be a priority. We agree that excellent public education should be available to everyone. There is still much work to do before the presidential elections. This endorsement of Obama is just the first step in assuring that our president will continue to work towards protecting and supporting public education.
