[NJEA] has successfully resisted proposals for regional negotiation of public-school salaries that would help local school districts resist the whipsaw effect of high settlements in neighboring districts. It has succeeded in keeping tenure laws on the books that discourage school boards from trying to dismiss incompetent teachers and administrators. It has helped forestall the creation of school vouchers that would help parents in failing school systems pay for private-school tuition. It has lobbied to keep school-board elections and school budget referendums on the spring calendar, when small turnouts at the polls enable public-education interest groups to enjoy a disproportionate influence. It has blocked any serious consideration of merit pay for teachers, an idea it finds distasteful.
In short, the NJEA has done a union’s job, which is to look out for the welfare of its dues-paying members. Its candidate-endorsement strategy is part of its formula for success.
George Amick of the Trenton Times on NJEA’s pro-incumbent bias.
