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Largest Teachers Union Already Involved In 2016 Presidential Race

Largest Teachers Union Already Involved In 2016 Presidential Race
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Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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In this photo taken Sept. 19, 2014, National Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen Garcia answers questions during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at NEA headquarters in Washington. Garcia is a Spanish speaking, guitar playing author and a former Utah teacher of the year who doesn't shy from criticizing what she describes as "toxic" testing. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

The National Education Association, the largest U.S. teachers union, has already jumped into the 2016 presidential race, even though only one major candidate has announced a campaign.

NEA president Lily Eskelsen García told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that the union and its 3 million members are considering candidate endorsements earlier than ever. The goal, García said, is making education a top issue in the election.

"It is not too early to be thinking about who the next president of the United States is going to be, even though it's one and a half years away," said García. "We know that educators have to step up and have our voices heard in this 2016 presidential election."

In the past, García said, the NEA would send politicians questionnaires about their views on education after candidacies had been announced. This time, the union has already sent questionnaires to all viable candidates in both political parties, said Carrie Pugh, NEA political director. The union wants to determine potential candidates' stances on issues that include the role of standardized tests, ballooning costs for university education and the rising number of students who come from low-income families.

The NEA also has begun hiring organizers in states with early voting, including Iowa and New Hampshire, and is putting up billboards in Des Moines and Manchester.

"You can read a poll, and a poll will tell you teachers are trusted and Americans want strong public schools," said García. "A lot of people running for high office are not professional educators. We want them to know what we know are the right answers."

NEA leaders wouldn't say how much the union plans to spend on the election. During the 2014 midterm elections, the NEA and smaller American Federation of Teachers spent unprecedented sums.

The AFT also has begun engaging members on who to endorse in the 2016 campaign, a spokesperson told The Huffington Post, though it's no earlier than in past presidential races.

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Before You Go

Education Leaders Who Have Never Taught
Arne Duncan(01 of11)
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While our nation's foremost leader in education policy has extensive experience in education administration, he was never actually a teacher. In the early '90s, Duncan headed the Ariel Education Initiative, a program that helped fund college for inner-city kids in Chicago. He became the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools system in 2001, before assuming his post as U.S. Secretary of Education.

Education was an important part of Duncan's early life. His mother runs an after-school tutoring center, while his late father taught at the University of Chicago. (credit:Getty Images)
Bill Gates(02 of11)
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Microsoft mogul Bill Gates has risen as an education influential in recent years through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation's education initiatives have pumped billions of dollars into advocacy groups and research organizations that support pro-education reform causes like charter schools and teacher evaluation systems.

In addition, Gates himself has reportedly taken a strong personal interest in improving student outcomes across the country. His foundation is also helping to fund the implementation and promotion of the groundbreaking Common Core State Standards, a set of national education benchmarks that have been adopted in most states.

However, some teachers resent his unduly influence in the field. Several months ago, a website called "Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates" emerged. The site publishes letters from educators who feel the philanthropist has impacted their classrooms in negative ways.

“We are teachers with questions. We are teachers who no longer want to live behind the Gates. We are teachers who are not funded by the Gates Foundation," the website's "About" section reads. (credit:Getty Images)
David Coleman(03 of11)
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David Coleman, a figure The Huffington Post has dubbed "the most influential education figure you've never heard of," is the president of the College Board, a national educational organization that is currently redesigning the SAT. Prior to his post at College Board, he helped design the Common Core Standards.

While nearly every teacher and student in the U.S. will be impacted by Coleman's ideas, the education influential was never a teacher. During his early years, he was exposed to the world of education through his mother, who was a university president. (credit:Getty Images)
Michael Bloomberg(04 of11)
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Changing education in New York City was a centerpiece of Michael Bloomberg's agenda during his three terms as mayor. A 2002 law, which was renewed in 2009, granted the mayor direct control over the city's public schools. During the rest of his time in office, Bloomberg worked to expand charter schools in the city, make teachers more accountable through evaluations tied to student test scores and close what he deemed to be failing schools.

However, it does not seem his legacy will end as he vacates his mayoral post. As HuffPost's Joy Resmovits wrote, "his legacy in remaking the city's schools was at the center of local and state elections nationwide, sometimes explicitly" this November.

Successful businessman? Yes. Teacher? No. (credit:Getty Images)
Tom Harkin(05 of11)
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Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, is attempting to secure a lasting legacy in the field of education through his rewrite of the highly controversial No Child Left Behind Act. While his version of the bill passed the education committee this past summer, it has yet to come to a full vote. If passed, Harkin's bill would overhaul the act that transformed American education.

While education is an important part of Harkin's narrative -- he often recounts the hardships his brother faced as a special needs student -- Harkin himself was never a teacher. (credit:Getty Images)
Janet Napolitano(06 of11)
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Janet Napolitano's resume is long and impressive: attorney, governor of Arizona, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. However, her resume does lack the title of educator, something one might consider to be an essential qualification for the head of the University of California system. (credit:Getty Images)
Kevin Johnson(07 of11)
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Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento, Calif., has made splashes in the education world through his founding of a charter school network and involvement in a major Sacramento education reform initiative. In 2010, he was appointed the chair of a Mayors Task Force on Public Schools at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He is also married to education reform powerhouse Michelle Rhee.

Prior to Johnson's foray into politics, he was a renowned NBA basketball player. (credit:Getty Images)
Wendy Kopp(08 of11)
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Wendy Kopp is the founder and chair of the Board of Teach For America, an organization that puts thousands of recent college graduates and professionals in classrooms with disadvantaged youth. Yet, she was never actually a teacher herself.

Kopp had the idea for Teach For America as an undergraduate at Princeton University. Its model recently went global with an organization she founded called Teach for All. (credit:Getty Images)
Rupert Murdoch(09 of11)
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Rupert Murdoch, the founder and CEO of News Corporation, inherited his father's string of newspapers at the age of 21, which didn't leave much time for teaching.

Yet, in recent years, Murdoch has extended his influence into the education world, starting an education division of News Corp called Amplify. The division's main product is the Amplify tablet, which the group hopes will transform classrooms through technology. This year, the group was awarded a grant to develop a digital library of Common Core teaching tools for educators. (credit:Getty Images)
Cory Booker(10 of11)
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The former mayor of Newark, N.J., and newly elected Sen. Cory Booker is an outspoken proponent of education reform. While Booker had little formal control over the city's state-run schools during his term as Newark mayor, he oversaw a $100 million donation from Mark Zuckerberg to the city's schools and is a board member of the group Democrats For Education Reform.

Cory Booker's positions are generally at odds with those of teachers unions. (credit:Getty Images)
Mark Zuckerberg(11 of11)
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Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, made a big splash in the education world in 2010 when he agreed to donate $100 million to public schools in Newark, N.J. In 2013, Zuckerberg and other technology influentials launched a political group that pushes for issues including school accountability and STEM education.

The Silicon Valley boy king was never a teacher. (credit:Getty Images)
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