A letter to Christian/Conservative Public School Union Members

I am Jeralee Smith, California public school teacher and one of the three founders of the NEA Conservative Educators Caucus. In this letter, I am representing my own opinions. The Conservative Caucus has not asked me to write this, though most would probably agree with what I am about to tell you. This is a long letter, but I am morally compelled to give you this information and urge you to give it serious consideration.

Many Christians and conservatives of other faiths are re-examining their relationship to teachers unions in the wake of the Annual NEA Convention just completed in Orlando this month. Many have heard in the Christian media that NEA attempted to endorse gay marriage. NEA refutes that but we have solid evidence that they had every intention of endorsing gay marriage but are now back-pedaling because of the bad press (and resulting membership loss) they got before the convention. If you want to read about this, several articles have come out from Focus on the Family, Southern Baptist Press and American Family Association. Broadcasts are also archived on the internet at Focus on the Family and American Family Association.

Attempting to endorse gay marriage is just one example of many things the National Education Association has been doing over the last 10-15 years that undermine our beliefs. As a conservative activist in the union for the last five years, I am privy to a lot of information that I wish every teacher knew. However, most of what I think you should know, the union wants to keep from you. If you want to be kept informed of what we are learning on the inside of the union, please sign up on the email list for the Conservative Educators Caucus http://www.ceccentral.org.

Many teachers have developed loyalty to the union and have a tendency to accept what their local union leaders say without getting the big picture of how unions play a role in advancing causes that conflict with our Judeo-Christian values. Unions tell us they don’t spend our dues on politics, but there are many soft and subtle ways that they affect the political outcomes at local, state and national levels. Also, unions are clever at making us feel only they can adequately play the role as our advocate and provider of certain services. A clear discussion of exactly what they provide and how effective they are compared to other options is seldom available. Most don’t even realize they have other options!

Now this letter discusses the options Christian and conservative union members have in order to preserve their integrity. In my opinion, there are only two ways to have integrity regarding teachers unions: One is to get out of the union (more discussion on how to do that below), and the other is to get involved in union policy making on the inside. The worst thing anyone can do is to let their dues money go to the union and feed this huge political machine that is destroying our values, and do nothing

I am still a union member myself because I feel my role is to speak out on the inside and be an inside “watchdog.” Anyone who is a member of the National Education Association can start a caucus, the purpose of which is to influence NEA policy. We conservatives already have two caucuses, plus a Republican Caucus within the union. All have very small membership. More information on the caucuses can be found on these websites: Conservative Educators Caucus (http://www.ceccentral.org), Ex-Gay Educators Caucus (http://www.nea-exgay.org).

If you are serious about standing with the bold ones on the inside, then run to be a delegate for the 2007 Convention which will be held at the end of June, beginning of July in Philadelphia, PA. Join one of our caucuses and help us speak up for our values before one of the most liberal groups in the country. Cast your delegate vote on the right side of the issues! Most delegates have all or part of their way paid by their union. Local unions have various procedures to elect delegates. Speak with your local president right away so you can be ready to run before your election.

You can also get involved in your state union representative body. It is this body which makes all the union decisions for your state (including dues raises) and powerfully influences your state legislatures, substantially supporting campaigns for politicians who then advance the union agenda. For example, California Teachers Association representatives voted to endorse a gay marriage bill in February, 2004.

For whatever reason, if you cannot be a voice for conservative values inside the union, you can have a powerful effect for good, by keeping part or all of your dues out of union hands by becoming a non-member. Most teachers are told that union membership is mandatory, especially if they don’t live in a state that has “Right to Work” laws. Although about 30 states have laws supporting unions, , there is no state in the country where it is legal to force union membership on an individual. You can become an agency fee payer where the portion of your dues designated for contract negotiation and local services is all that you pay. Or you can keep every penny out of union hands by becoming a religious objector. Your money then goes into a charity that both you and the union agree upon. For those who live in the approximately 20 “right to work” states, you don’t have to belong to the union. Simply don’t join, or if you do, get involved!

Following is specific information helpful if you are considering becoming a non-member:

There are 3 organizations that you will probably find most helpful in assisting you as you carry out your decision to leave the union. The first is National Right to Work. They can help you become a religious objector. They can even give you legal counsel along the way or remind anyone of your legal rights that tries to stop you. They have an example resignation letter on their website: http://www.nrtw.org

The next two organizations (Association of American Educators and Christian Educators Association, Int'l) are professional teachers associations (not unions) that can provide you with very good liability insurance and a few other things. The union's liability isn't worth much. You don't have a copy of the policy with your name on it because the union's policy has the union name on it. They won't defend you on anything if it isn't in "THEIR" best interest. If you join either of the above organizations, you will receive a liability policy with your name on the paper. CEAI give you a million dollar policy and AAE gives you 2 million, all included in their membership (CEAI membership costs are on a sliding scale. AAE is $150 per year). Here are their websites: http://www.ceai.org and http://www.aaeteachers.org.

I belong to both organizations (in addition to NEA). I enjoy CEAI because of the spiritual support and information on my religious liberties in the classroom they provide, in addition to the insurance. They also have prayer groups and regional meetings. AAE, on the other hand, is an organization (it is run by Christians but has a secular focus) that is having an impact with policy makers. For example, when the Secretary of Education needs teachers on committees for making policy, they often call on AAE for recommendations because the union has such an antagonistic relationship with policy makers (especially if they are Republican) that AAE is a better resource for them. AAE also provides a good organization for teachers who are not Christians, like conservative Jewish people. They put out a very professional newsletter with information you won't get elsewhere. Most teachers don't realize how slanted their views have become because the union controls what goes into teacher mailboxes. They simply don't have input on all sides of education issues! AAE helps to balance that information.

The union often tries to make teachers fearful of quitting for a variety of reasons, liability insurance being one of them. You should expect this, but double check everything you are told by talking with National Right to Work or another teachers association (not a union) about the arguments you are given for remaining a union member. Union representatives are not reliable sources of information to help you look at the pros and cons of unionism. To get a thorough “Consumer Report” level of quality information about union membership vs. other professional affiliation membership, you need to get information from one or more sources besides the union.

These suggestions are humbly offered for your consideration. We live in a very critical time where the real conflicts with our Christian values lie beneath the surface of our everyday encounters. Sometimes it takes extra time and energy to dig up the truth and get the big picture. But our values are not only under attack in the open by anti-Christian law suits and press coverage. Our money is being used for the very things we disagree with and we CAN do something about it! Now is our chance to exercise our freedom to take a stand before our freedoms have been entirely eroded.

Jeralee Smith California Teacher Co-Founder of the Conservative Educators Caucus Founder and Out-Going Chair of the Ex-Gay Educators Caucus

According to the author: "As a conservative activist in the union for the last five years, I am privy to a lot of information that I wish every teacher knew. However, most of what I think you should know, the union wants to keep from you."

And then there's this...

http://www.nea.org/annualmeeting/raaction/Wilson.html

From the 2006 RA Speech by NEA Executive Director John Wilson and Others :

Eric Heins:
Of all the problems in the world—the war in Iraq, North Korea testing bombs with missiles that can hit California, poverty, hunger, and underfunded schools—with all these challenges, it is ironic that the one thing that our President makes as a top legislative priority is a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. I guess I never realized that the life I'm building with my partner is such a threat to national security.

No government should have the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. The only really queer people are those who don't love anyone. The fact that many Americans still consider homosexuality a disease reminds us of the tremendous work that still needs to be done.

The religious right is so homophobic that they blame global warming on the AIDS quilt. And wouldn't it be great if they used their collective political will to protect and advance the civil and human rights of every American rather than using me and my lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered brothers and sisters as pawns to advance their own hate-filled agenda?

I'm Eric Heins, a gay American immigrant, and proud to say that this is also my country!

And there's more on that site, but not enough room here to elaborate.

I posted this, not because it's news for any of us what's on the NEA's agenda (quality education being the furthest from their mind,)but because I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that there is a conservative little rebellious group within the NEA which is working against them. They may be little, and not very effective for the time being, but they are there, and wherever there are conservatives trying to make a difference, there is hope.

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