NEA staff on ULP strike against nation’s largest union

PHILADELPHIA—The National Education Association Staff Organization (NEASO), representing employees at the NEA headquarters in Washington, is on an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike against the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest union. NEA’s annual convention, the 103rd Representative Assembly (RA), is now a struck event. A picket line has been established around the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. In an election year as important as this one, RA delegates were informed to prepare for “special visitors” to NEA’s convention.

WHO: Unionized staff working on behalf of the 3-million-member National Education Association, the nation’s largest union, are on strike. 

WHAT: Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike. A picket line surrounds the NEA’s convention. Do not cross the picket line.

WHY: The NEA Staff Organization (NEASO) filed a ULP with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

WHEN: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. EDT, July 5–7, 2024

WHERE: Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

NEASO filed two ULPs over NEA’s failure to comply with basic union requirements, such as bargaining over unilateral changes. The NLRB filing accuses NEA of wage theft and failure to provide information requested by the staff union on outsourcing more than $50 million to contractors. NEA defines a ULP as violating collective bargaining law, requiring unions and employers to bargain in good faith.

“The National Education Association has threatened to host its convention virtually to avoid a physical picket line. For a union to trick its members into crossing a picket line is reprehensible. It also confirms what we have been saying: NEA has abandoned its union values with its actions at the bargaining table,” said NEASO President Robin McLean. “NEA would rather cancel a multi-million-dollar convention than comply with labor law. NEA members should question where their hard-earned dues dollars are being used—and wasted.”

This first recent ULP filing pertains to NEA unilaterally removing holiday overtime pay, which violates the terms of the expired contract and past practice and amounts to wage theft. NEA continues to make unilateral changes to long-standing policies to retaliate against employees and disregard language that has existed in the union contract for more than two decades. 

The second ULP filing concerns NEA’s failure to answer NEASO’s information request about outsourcing more than $50 million to contractors. NEASO requested information about these contractors in April in order to bargain over the contract’s outsourcing provision. Contrarily, NEA proposed removing the current restrictions and parameters on contracting. NEA’s failure to provide the requested information violates its obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Records show NEA spent an additional $179 million over the same period on other contracted services deemed not to be bargaining unit work, including thousands of dollars on personal expenses.

NEASO is still negotiating with NEA Management over a successor agreement. The three-year contract covers everything from employee salaries and healthcare benefits to retirement security and healthy working environments to telework policies and probationary terms changes. In late April, NEASO members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike to secure a fair and just successor contract that reflects the shared union values that brought them to work on behalf of 3 million NEA members. The NEASO Board of Directors requested the strike authorization vote because of NEA Management’s continuous pattern of starting negotiations in bad faith when presented with commonsense contract proposals and paltry concession offerings at the bargaining table. In its last three contract negotiations with its union staff, NEA has bargained in this fashion. NEASO’s contract expired on May 31, 2024.

“Until a successor agreement is reached, there will be no labor peace,” added McLean.

You can read more personal accounts from NEASO members and find all the latest news on pickets, strike authorization, and solidarity pledges at www.neasomatters.org/dontcross.  

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