NEA Caught Scabbing Union Members’ Work

About 300 NEA staffers, including the union’s financial experts, IT specialists, digital strategists, writers, policy analysts, business affairs admins and specialists, and others, have been locked out of work by NEA management. For the past five weeks, NEA management has withheld their salaries and even threatened to cut off their healthcare coverage, a tactic that the Wall Street Journal called “sadistic.” But some NEA work is still happening—it’s just being done by scabs. The scab workers are supporting NEA President Becky Pringle’s appearances on television, working with NEA’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention, writing articles for NEA Today, and keeping NEA’s computer systems running. “Scab labor is someone else doing the work that striking or locked-out workers would normally do,” says Bruce Nissen, a professor emeritus of labor studies and director of research at the Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University. (Check out Nissen’s letter to NEA President Becky Pringle and NEA Executive Committee members, calling on them to end the lockout.) NEA’s scab labor is mostly being done by NEA managers, but only because vital vendors and state affiliate staff have refused to cross the picket line—even though NEA managers have invited affiliates to “invoice them” for the work. Said one vendor, “Our firm has always loved our work with NEA and its affiliates because we believe in union values. Our commitment to those values means we don’t cross picket lines.”

The scabbing is enough to make it look like NEA is semi-functional. But, in reality, most of the scab work ranges from shoddy to mediocre, and is damaging NEA’s efforts to elect Vice President Kamala Harris to the White House.“ NEASO work is irreplaceable,” said NEASO President Robin L. McLean. “What NEA members are getting from these scabs is a poor substitute for the excellent work done by NEASO’s highly skilled, very experienced workers. This scab work is like imitation crab—and NEA members will note the difference. Bottom line, it is beyond time for NEA management to settle this contract, end the lockout, and get us back to work.”

The Work Being Scabbed

Since Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democrats’ ticket and chose NEA member and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, NEA management’s use of scab labor has escalated. Here are just a few instances (of many!), which labor expert Nissen confirmed are examples of scab labor: Supporting NEA President Becky Pringle’s TV appearances and/or recorded speeches: Typically, Pringle is streamed live into TV studios, or recorded speaking, by NEASO video production staff who work in NEA’s D.C. headquarters studio. During the lockout, Pringle is maintaining those appearances through scab labor. Election-Related Communications: In 2020, one in 28 voters came from an NEA household; voter participation among NEA members was nearly 25% higher than the rate among the public. Generating the same level of enthusiasm in 2024 depends on NEA’s digital organizers and campaign specialists—who are currently locked out. Noted the Wall Street Journal earlier this week: “[NEA’s internal battle] could threaten the NEA’s top goal: mobilizing its three million members to help elect Kamala Harris.” While a handful of NEA managers can’t possibly duplicate the breadth of NEASO staff’s political work, they’re certainly trying. It’s not just the poorly written press release, it’s this NEA Today story that lacks a byline. And, it’s also this “guide for NEA affiliates,” designed by an associate director in the NEA Center for Communications, according to the author information embedded in the PDF.