NEA challenged on political outlays - Teacher's union fields "army of campaign workers"

Washington Times ^ | April 7, 2003 | George Archibald

[Cincinatus' Wife]

As much as one-third of the tax-exempt National Education Association's yearly $271 million income goes toward politically related activities, according to union documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

The documents show that the 2.7 million-member teacher's union spends millions annually to field what one critic calls an "army of campaign workers," while maintaining that it spends nothing on politics.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

June 2000 - TEACHERS BACK DNC WITH MONEY, MUSCLE [Excerpt]--In Iowa, New Hampshire, and other key primary states, teachers knocked on doors, staffed telephone banks, and helped get out the vote for Gore. In New York, members of the United Federation of Teachers helped distribute more than one million fliers for Gore in one day. In Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Teachers Association contacted each of its 90,000 members three times by phone and by mail, urging them to vote for Gore over Bradley………….

The teachers and their unions have long been a force in American politics. From 1991 to 1999, for example, contributions to the Democratic Party from the NEA, AFT, and the Service Employees International Union, which includes some education workers, totaled $6.7 million, making teachers by far the party's biggest donor bloc, according to the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity. The largest single contributor to Democrats - the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - gave $3.7 million in that period……..[End Excerpt]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

June 2000 - LANDMARK FILES COMPLAINTS WITH IRS AND FEC AGAINST THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION*** As part of its Quality Schools 2000 initiative, Landmark Legal Foundation has compiled substantial information showing that the NEA uses tax-exempt general revenue to influence the election of candidates seeking public office - for which it has neither paid income taxes nor reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as required by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The last several NEA Form 990 federal tax returns, submitted to the IRS under penalty of perjury, disclose no political expenditures whatsoever. The NEA and several of its affiliates have also failed to disclose the full extent of their political activities to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Landmark has filed formal complaints with the IRS, the FEC and the Inspector General of the Treasury Department detailing its extensive findings. Landmark's asking these agencies to initiate comprehensive investigations of the NEA's political activities and expenditures to determine whether it has violated federal tax and campaign laws. Landmark is also asking the IRS to consider whether the NEA's tax-exempt status should be revoked, and whether the IRS and the FEC should impose fines and penalties on the NEA. You can review the complaints by using the navigator bar to the right.

Some of the key findings in Landmark's complaints include:***

[monocle]

If only the NEA would show as much fervor in educating our students.

[EternalVigilance]

But...but...but...there is no controlling legal authority! Hah!

The NEA, the world's largest union, controls the Democratic Party. Compare a list of their members with a list of national delegates to the RAT convention, and you will see that they run the show.

The most dangerous and damaging bunch of leftists in the land.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[RippleFire]

bump

[machman]

Miss Lyons, the NEA spokeswoman, said the IRS conducted an exhaustive audit of the NEA's 1993 Form 990 tax return and "found no irregularities with NEA's reporting in this regard."

Gee, and what political party was in charge of all 3 branches of government in that year? Oh, lets see, maybe the one who GETS ALL THE NEA POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS, perhaps?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

If only the NEA would show as much fervor in educating our students.

Their clients are union members. Bodies in public school classrooms are just a means to an end.

[JoeSixPack1]

A 2002 study by the Center for Responsive Politics found that since 1988 the NEA had given $21 million in campaign contributions, 95 percent of that to Democrats.

And the other 5% was spent on destroying documents.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Florida: GOP bill draws teachers' anger***The GOP-dominated Senate Governmental Oversight and Productivity Committee on Tuesday approved Fasano's proposal (SB 1652) to limit payroll deductions only for the cost of collective bargaining and grievance adjustment. The committee split along party lines, with six Republicans supporting the measure and three Democrats opposing it. "This bill is telling me to shut my mouth," said Maureen Dinnen, president of the teachers union, who was visibly shaking with anger after the vote. "We voted to support candidates who were chosen based on their educational positions."***

Bad faith abounds in debate about the war***A FEW DAYS AFTER the United States attacked Iraq, I traveled to Chicago to address a group of high school history teachers. I urged them to conduct debates about the war, so that students could arrive at their own views of it. Afterward, one of the teachers pulled me aside. ''Thanks so much for your talk,'' she said, smiling graciously. ''Unless we debate the war, our students won't know that it's an enormous mistake.'' Like the teacher, I regard the attack on Iraq as an enormous mistake. But her comment contains its own cynical error: It presumes anyone who debates...***

CNN helps impending war take shape in classrooms*** With links to ready-made lesson plans from sources like CNN and National Geographic, Doyle said the district can put constantly updated teaching tools in every class…………….Only one of the 19 students in Waldo Rodriguez's 12th-grade government class at Miami Senior High believes the United States should invade Iraq, but almost all believe it is inevitable. When the discussion turned toward Bush -- or, more accurately, against him -- Rodriguez focused the conversation on the separation of powers. The president is commander-in-chief, he said, but Congress funds and declares war. Impending war shaping studies in classroom Economics classes discuss how stock... ***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[bimbo]

They're free to do it - they just have to pay taxes on it."

It was a common tactic of Clinton-Gore to sic the IRS on any and all opposing political organizations. Since the Democrats have raised the political sewage in America to new levels, the Republicans MUST regrettably respond in a like manner – that means George W. Bush must make that call to the IRS. I’m afraid that Mark R. Levin of Landmark does not carry much weight with the IRS.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

It was a common tactic of Clinton-Gore to sic the IRS on any and all opposing political organizations

Yes it was. A very good thing to remember.

[dennisw]

The retired teachers union in Florida mans their phone banks every Novemember. I know this first hand because some of my relatives are retired NYC teachers who live down in Florida and help out the RATS come elction time.....

[an amused spectator]

DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO DEGREES OF PRESIDENT CLINTON SECTION: IRS AUDITS AND TAX EXEMPT STATUS SUBSECTION: ALL Revised 1/18/01

From the archives of Freeper Alamo-Girl. :-)

[thegreatbeast]

Is the NEA the world's largest union? That wouldn't be some union representing some segment of the postal workers?
I remember like back in '80 or '88 that 20% of the delegates to the democrat presidential nominating convention were teachers. What more does one need to know?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bumps!

[dennisw]

NEA has more members in Michigan than the UAW does. How you like them apples!!

[EdReform]

Bump

See reply 28 and reply 29 in the thread The Union That Killed Education

[EdReform]

NEA doesn t show up in court; union fined $800,000 for intentional violations of state law