NEA Looks to Put Dollars Behind Ballot Efforts

[proud2BlibKansan]

The National Education Association has thrown its financial support behind an effort to overturn a series of new Idaho laws that weaken teachers' collective bargaining rights and job protections.

And the union's giving won't stop there.

The 3.2-million member union is likely to provide financial backing to a similar efforts in other states, including Ohio, the NEA's political director, Karen White, told me this week. In Idaho, the union contributed $75,000 to an attempt to gather enough signatures to have items placed on the ballot to overturn three laws recently approved by lawmakers. Those laws, which were backed by the state's Republican governor, C.L. "Butch" Otter and state schools chief Tom Luna, were strongly opposed by NEA's state affiliate. The laws put restrictions on collective bargaining and tenure and created a new merit pay system, among other provisions.

The money is coming from NEA's ballot measure and legislative crisis fund, White told me, a pool of money dedicated to get money out quickly to efforts the union supports in the states. As we've reported, the overwhelming majority of political contributions made by the NEA and American Federation of Teachers typically flow into state elections, where a lot of school policy gets shaped, and to state ballot items, where voters are often asked to decide on tax hikes or caps that affect schools.

more . . . http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/state_edwatch/2011/05/nea_looks_to_state_ballot_items.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2