Delegates at the 2011 NEA RA.
Many Connecticut teachers are grateful to President Barack Obama for keeping class sizes from ballooning and preserving their jobs in recent years through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. They’re not alone, as evidenced today in Chicago as NEA teacher leaders from across the country voted to get behind President Obama in his bid for re-election in 2012.
NEA’s Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA) is being held in Chicago. On July 4, it’s where teacher delegates voted on a recommendation from NEA’s Political Action Committee to support President Obama. “President Barack Obama shares our vision for a stronger America,” said Dennis Van Roekel, president of NEA. “He has never wavered from talking about the importance of education or his dedication to a vibrant middle class.” Watch an excerpt of Van Roekel’s speech here.
Read the latest headlines from the NEA RA here, or follow the RA on Facebook. On Twitter use the hashtag #neara11.
On July 3, Vice President Joe Biden met with the 9,000 teachers at the RA in Chicago. He lambasted what he called an increasingly union-hostile “new” Republican party, raising the specter of high-profile labor fights picked by Republican governors with public workers unions across the country. “There is an organized effort to place blame for budget shortfalls on educators and other public workers. It is one of the biggest scams in modern American history,” Biden said. Listen to more of his speech below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYU27Ouy4jA]
