NEA General Counsel Bob Chanin is a crowd favorite at the RA for his ability to explain complex legal issues clearly and authoritatively. Here, he reacts after the New Jersey Education Association presented him the official "Bob Chanin Caucus" T-shirt (the back of the shirt, pictured behind Chanin, reads: "Show your amicus briefs") on stage at the 2008 NEA Representative Assembly at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C. July 4, 2008
NEA’s Top Attorney, Bob Chanin, Says NEA’s First Goal Is To Advance And Protect Teacher Rights
formal acknowledgment of NEA’s place in the organized-labor movement
Chanin pointed out that the NEA used collective bargaining and strikes to more effectively represent education employees.
“NEA and affiliates must never lose sight of the fact that they are unions, and unions first and foremost represent their members,” Chanin said.
“It is not because of creative ideas, it is not because of the merit of our position, it is not because we care about children, it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power and we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year because they believe we are the unions that can most effectively represent them, the unions that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.” (standing ovation)
Chanin said, “Why are conservative and right wing bastards picking on NEA and its affiliates? It is the price we pay for success. NEA and its affiliates have been singled out because they are the most effective unions in the United States and they are the nation’s leading advocates for public education and for the type of liberal social and economic agenda and social agenda that these (conservative) groups find unacceptable. NEA will continue to be attacked as long as we continue to be effective advocates for public education for education employees and for human and civil rights. ..”