RA Action:

News from the NEA Annual Meeting

July 1, 2007

Ready for Action

In pre-RA events, delegates focus on history, gear up for political activism.

Hyundai Motor America Chief Operating Officer Steve Wilhite, left, NEA President Reg Weaver and NEA General Counsel Bob Chanin cut the ribbon to open the NEA's 150th Anniversary Exhibit during the National Education Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on Saturday.

As NEA delegates gear up for the RA, they’re building on nearly a week’s worth of preparation and inspiration from this year’s pre-RA events.

At the Joint Conference on Concerns of Minorities and Women on June 27-28 participants took a hard look at a range of issues facing public education. Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of the students who in 1957 integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, spoke about the experience in a session with pioneering civil rights attorney Julius Chambers.

“We’re still fighting that war -- how to educate black children and other minorities in this diverse society,” said Illinois delegate Vera Gill, a paraeducator from Chicago Heights. “We’re still taking baby steps. By now we should be walking further down the road toward greater equality.”

About 900 active and retired teachers, education support professionals, and higher education employees registered for the conference, which stressed diversity and advocacy in its theme, “One NEA: Many Diverse Voices “Let Freedom Ring!”  Conference participants explored societal trends, education research and reform, best practices, and other issues affecting students and employees. The struggle for justice and civil rights was at the heart of the 26 workshops and seminars.

Public education is “the cradle of diversity that makes this country unique,” journalist Eleanor Clift said during a luncheon speech.

Conference participants attending the opening plenary session heard from S. Haunani Apoliona, chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. She is leading an effort to pursue federal recognition for Native Hawaiians while responding to lawsuits aimed at diminishing Native Hawaiian entitlements. The closing speaker was Gary Soto, a poet and author whose writing is centered on the Mexican-American experience.

College affordability and political action were the themes of this year’s Student Conference. “This has been our most politically active conference yet,” said Student Program Chair Anthony Daniels, who cited the success of its first cyberlobbying campaign and growing PAC contributions.

At the NEA-Retired Annual Meeting, NEA-R President Barbara Matteson lauded members for the role they played in last fall’s elections and urged them to stay energized as the 2008 elections approach. Keynote speaker Steve Protulis, former executive director of the National Council of Senior Citizens, also exhorted retirees to keep fighting, calling older Americans “the conscience of this country.”

At Friday’s Retirement and Health Benefits Forum, activists talked about the threats to their state pension plans posed by efforts to switch from secure, defined-benefit plans to riskier defined-contribution plans and shared successful efforts to defend pensions. 

On Saturday, NEA President Reg Weaver cut the ribbon to open the exhibit honoring NEA’s 150th anniversary. Sponsored by Hyundai, the exhibit features the Association’s past, present, and a glimpse at the future.

For the latest schedules and agendas, visit www.nea.org/annualmeeting.