Established by the Democratic Caucus of the National Education Association.
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NEA - We Educate
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NEA
DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS SCHEDULE FOR RA 2018 Minneapolis |
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From the Chair
Jim Lansing In the past year, it
has been hard to avoid “outrage fatigue”
created by reacting to the outrageous activities
of the current occupant of the
White House. We must look past the chaos to
focus on what can be done to create
mid-term victories in 2018. Many say a “Blue
Wave” is emerging that will bring Democratic
success in the mid-term. There
are
positive signs.
Many voters have come to
realize the mistake the was made in 2016.
Democratic victories in special elections
are encouraging. An
unprecedented number of women are stepping up to
run for political positions.
At our 2013 Breakfast in Atlanta, the dynamic
speaker was a promising
Democratic leader in the Georgia General
Assembly: Stacey Abrams. In May
of this year national headlines showed
how she made history in a dramatic and
successful campaign to win the
Democratic nomination for Governor of Georgia! The activism created
by students and their families after the
tragic school shootings in Parkland, Florida,
and at Santa Fe, Texas may be a
turning point in the movement to end school
violence, and should be an
inspiration for us. This year our union sisters
and brothers created major strikes
and protests in West Virginia, Arizona,
Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina.
Positive changes in salary and working
conditions have occurred. 2018 is the 50th
anniversary of the nation’s first statewide
teacher’s strike in Florida that
created the Florida Education Association.
Momentum is building. We must work with our
union governmental relations offices and
our local, county, and state Democratic party
organizations to make change
happen. Every Democratic vote must be turned
out! Please renew your
membership at the NEA Democratic Caucus
booth #333
at the NEA EXPO on June
30th and July 1st, and
attend our caucus meetings to tell
us your concerns and suggestions. Memberships
may be renewed at the booth, or
with your state contact person. There are still
several states where a contact
person is needed. It is easy and fun to be the
person to promote membership in
the Democratic Caucus in your state caucus
meetings. A packet may be picked up
at the booth #333. Our annual breakfast meeting
will be held at 8:00 am on July
4th since the RA ends the following
day. The caucus positions
of Chair and Secretary are up for
election/re-election to two year terms this
year. Nominations may be made at
the first business meeting on June 30th
at 4:00 PM. All candidates
running for office must be present. Members may
communicate with each other on the NEA
Democratic
Caucus Facebook page. Look for the Facebook page
and request access to posts
for information and updates. Look also for
updates to our website, neademocrats.org,
and for e-mail announcements via our list serve.
The 2018 RA in Minneapolis
will be a great one! Jim Lansing, Chair NEA Democratic Caucus Jim Lansing, Chair NEA Democratic Caucus Please Note:
Our annual Breakfast
Meeting will be held at 8:00 AM,
on July 4TH, 2018 the RA ends the
following day. Advice
from the Vice-Chair The
Changing Landscape of New England Union
Membership For decades, the American Northeast
has arguably been a bastion of
public employee union strength and Democratic
voters. Coinciding with
this situation, union membership in public
schools and other entities has
virtually been an automatic process,
guaranteeing consistency and
representation of public sector employees.
Recently, however, much
attention and concern has been focused on the
Janus case, and its far-reaching
effects on all union membership, but especially
in the Northeast. The details
of the judgement have yet to be seen, but one
can anticipate the same types of
problems our brothers and sisters across the
country have faced for years,
including increased pressure from management not
to join the union, barriers in
place to meet and sign up new and existing
employees every year, resistance to
payroll deductions for union dues, and more. Most of our Southern and Midwest
brethren have faced these issues
for years, with varying levels of success and
challenges, so it begs the
question, “what is the big deal with this new
situation”? The answer has
numerous facets, but the largest one lies in the
premise behind this and dozens
of other court challenges around the country in
recent months. Since the last
Presidential election, President Trump has been
active and actually working
hard on only two major goals: Eradicating
all of President Obama’s
accomplishments; and appointing as many
conservatives in key posts like the Department
of Education, and the courts with as many
conservative judges as possible. From
lower court justices and rulings against class
action suits, to rolling back
rights from the LGBTQ community, to the Janus
case, making it harder to
unionize and bargain, arguably one of the most
important battles today is for
the survival of Americans’ long-term democratic,
legal rights. In the
constant chaos and smokescreen of FBI
investigations and Trump-created
conflicts with just about everyone, what is
often lost in conversation is the
almost secret battle in the courtrooms for our
very rights as citizens.
Sincerely, Kevin J. Dubois Vice-Chair, Democratic Caucus
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STATE SENATOR STEVE A. CWODZINSKI OF MINNESOTA DISTRICT 48
Secretary’s Report
One
highlight
of my summer has been to show support for Stacey
Abrams for the
Governor of Georgia after her dramatic win in the
Democratic Primary and to
support Dr. Sid Chapman in his run for the Georgia
General Assembly and a
former house minority leader for the Georgia General
Assembly and a former
state representative.
Dr. Chapman is the
current President of the Georgia Association of
Educators. Both
Abrams and Chapman have been endorsed by the Georgia
Association of Educators. The fight
continues for Stacey Abrams until Election
Day on November 6th, 2018.
Dr. Chapman’s fight goes into a run-off
election against fellow
Democrat, Otha Thorton Jr., on July 24th,
2018 prior to Election Day
in November. As
a
reminder, please renew your NEA Democratic Caucus
membership and bring your
friend to join the caucus and the fight to elect
Democrats. I
look forward to seeing everyone in
Minneapolis, MN for what looks to be another exciting
convention! Debra
J.
Mines NEA
Democratic
Caucus Secretary
NEA Democratic Caucus
Officers:
Chair Jim Lansing
1st Vice-Chair Kevin J. Dubois 2nd Vice Chair open position
Secretary Debra J. Mines debramines@icloud.com
Treasurer Teresa M. Hodge vihodgetm@ymail.com Editor Jack
Schneider JackS921@comcast.net
Webmaster
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2018 Caucus ScheduleNEA Expo 9-3:45 Booth #333 Membership Mtg 4:00 pm Rm S100F -nominations for officers and coordinators - must be present Sunday, July 1 NEA Expo Booth 9-5 pm #333 Membership Mtg 12:00-1:00 Rm S100F Monday, July 2 Membership Mtg 9:30-10:30 am S100F- Candidate speeches Tuesday, July 3 Membership meeting - Lunch Break S100F (election of officers) Wednesday, July 4 Breakfast Meeting 8:00-10:00 am (registration 7:30-8:00)Convention Center Room 103EF Thursday, July 5 Exec Committee Mtg 9:30-10:00am Convention Center S100F
Download
here, fill out, and send to Jim Lansing
at the address on the form.
The 2016 election
is over and America’s future is in danger.
What is vital to our beliefs and values as
Democrats is under attack. All three branches
of government are now under Republican
control. The American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Koch Brothers
will be pouring huge amounts of money into the
2018 elections. ALEC is a shadowy group of
companies and politicians working together
behind closed doors to rewrite laws. ALEC and
other right-wing Republican groups will far
outspend Democratic candidates.
If you are unable to
attend the 2018 Democratic Caucus in Boston,
please take the time to send in this year’s
membership form in the Donkey's Tale. In
Solidarity, Jack Schneider, Editor What is the NEA
Democratic Caucus?
Each year, the National Education Association, NEA, holds an annual meeting called a Representative Assembly. NEA members from around the country, even from around the world, attend the NEA-RA to discuss and formulate the direction of the NEA. A wide variety of caucuses have sprung up over the years out of the specific interests of NEA members who attend the Assembly. The NEA Democratic Caucus is a caucus of the NEA delegates to the annual meeting who are members of the Democratic Party in their respective states. This web page helps those delegates get ready for their meetings at the regular annual meeting of the RA. And of course, we are Democrats!
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