Staff members of the largest teachers’ union in the country are striking the union — and they were locked out of the association’s headquarters.
The National Education Association Staff Organizations, or NEASO, is a union representing staff members at the National Education Association, or NEA, a teachers’ union. The Hill reported the NEASO has gone on strike, accusing the NEA of wage theft and not providing information about $50 million being outsourced to contractors. The group filed two Unfair Labor Practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.
The news of the strike comes amid the NEA’s assembly, which happened this weekend.
Before the assembly, NEASO President Robin McLean told The Hill, “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.”
A spokesperson for the NEA told the outlet, “It is deeply concerning that misinformation has been shared related to our contract negotiations. This not only misrepresents the facts but also undermines the integrity of our ongoing efforts to honor a fair bargaining process.”
The strike ended the assembly early, according to Education Week. President Joe Biden was scheduled to speak on Sunday, but bowed out because he did not want to cross a picket line.
Sunday was when the NEA announced that nearly 300 staff members would be locked out of headquarters and won’t be paid until they agree on a contract, the outlet reported. The NEA reportedly said staffers’ actions amounted to “abandoning thousands of NEA members from across the country who traveled to the representative assembly, many at their own personal expense, and depriving them of the opportunity to convene and deliberate the business of the union.”
McLean, NEASO president, also issued a statement to Education Week.
“The NEA management’s punitive lockout of its own employees is a dangerous, reckless, and reactionary move that undermines the rights of every union worker in this country,” said McLean. “These are clear union-busting techniques that will not be tolerated. I cannot imagine it lands well that the nation’s largest union is locking out its staff union.”