Let me be clear--- I abhor the NEA. In the state of Texas, we are not required to join any union, not even the NEA. (That seems to be a commonly misunderstood myth around here.) There are other non-union teacher organizations and I make every effort to get fellow teachers to join those when possible.
Many teachers are not, and that's scary. Many here are not, so I've been trying to note it here as often as possible, especially when the question "What's happened to America?" comes up.