As if the NEA's pretending to care about helping schools and students wasn't bad enough, we now know it doesn't really care that much about helping teachers, either. A recent Wall Street Journal editorial highlighted how the nation's largest teachers union - that is, an organization ostensibly dedicated to bettering the prospects of, yup, teachers - spent about a third of last year's member dues on political goals, many of which have little to do with improving educators' lives. (How does Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition help teachers?) Further, the NEA "has a $58 million payroll for just over 600 employees, more than half of whom draw six-figure salaries." But that doesn't mean the union isn't looking out for you, teachers of America. The NEA website opines: "As the national voice of more than 2.7 million public education employees, NEA knows that too many educators have been denied professional pay for too long.... Toward this end, NEA supports a minimum salary of at least $40,000 for all teachers in our nation's public schools and at least a living wage for every education support professional." Hear, hear! Living wages for all teachers! And caviar, Cuban cigars, and bottles of Cristal and 1986 Ch??teau Mouton Rothschild for the union reps who so dearly love them!
"Teachers' Pets," Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2005