In his list of achievements, he included the re-election of President Obama. When the union’s endorsed candidate wins, that’s a victory, but offense? It contradicts what NEA was saying during the campaign, where the President was often described as a “goalie,” as in this blog post from NEA vice president Lily Eskelsen:

A goalie doesn’t make points. A goalie keeps the other side from making points. If we keep the Crazy House (i.e. House of Representatives); if the Senate goes Crazy, they will pass legislation to kill unions and to kill Social Security and to kill Medicare, and there will be only one hope that this radical legislation will not become laws that kill the middle-class. Our Goalie, President Obama, holding the veto pen.

Stocks also listed NEA litigation against Florida’s teacher evaluation law, Alabama’s immigration law and California’s Proposition 8 – all of which sound like defensive measures against other people’s initiatives.

Stocks described how NEA has begun to expose the American Legislative Exchange Council “using behind-the-scenes work.” That sounds like defense, too, not to mention that NEA has been trying to “expose” ALEC since, oh, 1996.

Everyone wants to be the initiator of events, rather than the victim. But driving off the army surrounding your castle walls is not gaining ground.

* Marietta English was re-elected as president of the Baltimore Teachers Union. This will be her seventh three-year term, and it has become so pro forma that the union didn’t even bother to announce the tabulated vote, the turnout, or even if she had a challenger.

* The New Jersey Education Association had an election/accession, as incumbent vice president Wendell Steinhauer moved up to president, and secretary-treasurer Marie Blistan advanced to vice president. We’re looking forward to seeing what they’ll be wearing this season.

* There was a minor upset in Miami as incumbent secretary-treasurer Fedrick C. Ingram defeated incumbent vice president Artie Leichner for the presidency of United Teachers of Dade. The Miami Herald story inaccurately states UTD has 34,000 members, which instead is the number of people in the bargaining unit. There is no agency fee in Florida. UTD has 14,500 members, of whom 7,600 cast a vote in the election, which is a pretty high turnout for a union election.

* Votes will be tabulated this weekend for the presidency of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, where Phil Rumore has been president for 32 years. His opponent, Marc Bruno,  was six when Rumore first won.

1) The Teacher Tenure Song.

2) The opening theme to High School Sucks.

3) Greatest Hit Songs of the Teacher.

4) Public School House Rock – Nouns.

5) And, of course, NEA Standing Strong.

“Staffing has decreased significantly over the past 4 years and on August 30, 2013, an additional 27 staff members will retire leaving the organization without the ability to
continue the necessary work,” reads the flyer. “WEA does not plan to fill those positions with permanent employees which is a violation of the negotiated Collective Bargaining
Agreement.”

The staff union claims WEA will end the year with a positive $8.3 million “fund balance.” I’m not sure to what that refers, but I do know that in 2010-11 the union’s net assets were $18.6 million in the red, mostly due to staff pensions and retiree health care.

NEA has been lucky not to see any staff strikes or major job actions during the economic downturn. In general, staff unions have recognized the financial straits many state affiliates are in. But as recovery proceeds, we can expect to see greater demands from union employees – at least the ones who are left.