Confidential strategy directives from the National Education Association urge the union's field representatives involved in the collective bargaining process to "attack the chief school administrator" and "mislead" their own members. Posted on 08/30/2007 12:39:16 PM PDT by Sopater
Confidential strategy directives from the National Education Association urge the union's field representatives involved in the collective bargaining process to "attack the chief school administrator" and "mislead" their own members.
The confidential NEA documents obtained by OneNewsNow carry the title "NEA Strategy Directives to Field Representatives for Difficult Negotiations." The documents recommend strategies for field representatives who are engaged in negotiations with school districts that are reticent to certify the powerful teacher's union.
One strategy the NEA calls "Block the boss" calls on field reps to "Attack the chief school administrator. Charge him with poor mismanagement, poor working conditions and rotten personnel relations." The objective is to remove the school's chief from the bargaining process, giving the field rep "a clear shot at the [school] Board."
The directives urge NEA field reps to "mislead" their own membership during the collective bargaining process, the purpose being to "begin the process of dissatisfaction" -- and to "continue to mislead" the member teachers "to start to personalize the conflict in the negotiations."
California special education teacher Jeralee Smith is one of the founders of the NEA's Conservative Educators Caucus. Smith says she witnessed the NEA's strong-arm tactics during the Prop 75 campaign in California in 2005.
"We were made to watch a video -- without any discussion before or after of our own views -- about how much the governor was set to destroy teachers, just so that everyone would go and work really hard to defeat any of his proposals," she recalls. "They ignited our passions and made us fearful and angry." In contrast, Smith believes teachers should be disengaged from any political bias so they can train children to make up their own minds.
The confidential "Strategy Directives" include more than a dozen suggestions on what to do "if bargaining isn't going to your satisfaction." Among those suggested actions are:
One of the final strategies involves a public demand that all school board members -- the "decision makers" -- come to the bargaining table. "Once you get them there," says the NEA document, "turn them against one another." This strategy is labeled "Lambs to slaughter."
Smith says the NEA's strategies rival the hardball tactics of the AFL-CIO. "It's manipulative of people who are really trying to focus on helping children," she states, "and to me it's a wholly dishonest approach."
And she calls such heavy-handed tactics "un-American." She cautions that "people need to be really aware of all kinds of manipulation [by] those who are struggling to get power. I don't believe there is any sense of moral right and wrong behind many people who are seeking power -- and they'll do anything to get it. So we need to have extreme discernment in this day and age."
The NEA did not respond to OneNewsNow's request for an interview.
All Original Content Copyright 2006-2007 American Family News Network - All Rights Reserved
There are two types of people in the publik skewls: good teachers, and fascist eduKKKrat scum. This lady is the former, and is FAR outnumbered by the latter. I salute her courage in standing up to these filthy thugs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.