The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers. The NEA has 3.2 million members and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. With affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the nation, it employs over 550 staff and had a budget of more than $307 million for the 2006–2007 fiscal year. Dennis Van Roekel is the NEA's current president.
NEA, which describes itself as a professional employee organization, is incorporated as a professional association in a few states and as a labor union in most. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code. It is not a member of the AFL-CIO, but is part of Education International, the global federation of teachers' unions. The NEA is a factor in moderns liberalism, and typically supports the Democratic Party. Conservatives attack it for opposing types of education reform designed to weaken unions.
Read more about National Education Association: Mission, Structure and Governance, Funding, Leading Issues, Political Activities, Criticism, Controversy
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