While President Barack Obama and the National Education Association, which represents the majority of teachers in the US, haven’t always seen eye to eye, the organization is behind the president’s 2012 re-election bid. The news is even more surprising considering the fact that the Republican party hasn’t even chosen a contender. With education reform on the table, it makes sense that the National Education Association would support the candidate that they think will best represent their interests.
In several states across the US, Republicans have effectively taken collective bargaining off of the table. Only senior level educators have been immune from the massive layoffs that are taking place in public school systems in New York City, Los Angeles and Florida. Most teachers and school administrations still believe that the No Child Left Behind Act is largely ineffective, but they would probably fair worse if a Republican was in charge.
Just days before the National Education Association backed Obama, they released a statement that detailed the 13 separate areas in which they disagreed with the president’s policies. It seems like the NEA had a change of heart once leaders begun to discuss who might be running on the Republican side later this year. Mitt Romney believes that privatizing nearly every social program will help the country to recover more quickly, but his own children are educated in private schools. Obama may not have stopped state lawmakers from taking away the bargaining rights of teachers, but he has still proven to be the best ally for teachers unions.
