National Education Association

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The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States.^[2] It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers. The NEA has just under 3 million members and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.^[3] The NEA had a budget of more than $341 million for the 2012–2013 fiscal year.^[4] Becky Pringle is the NEA's current president.^[5][6]

During the early 20th century, the National Education Association was among the leading progressive advocates of establishing a United States Department of Education.^[7]

Driven by pressure from teacher organizing, by the 1970s the NEA transformed from an education advocacy organization to a rank-and-file union. In the decades since, the association has continued to represent organized teachers and other school workers in collective bargaining and to lobby for progressive education policy.^[8] The NEA's political agenda frequently brings it into conflict with conservative interest groups.^[9] State affiliates of the NEA regularly lobby state legislators for funding, seek to influence education policy, and file legal actions.

At the national level, the NEA lobbies the United States Congress and federal agencies and is active in the nominating process for Democratic candidates.^[10] From 1989 through the 2014 election cycle, the NEA spent over $92 million on political campaign contributions, 97% of which went to Democrats.^[11]