Staff for the nation’s largest teachers’ union picketed at the organization’s Washington headquarters Thursday striking for the first time in decades over what they say are unfair labor practices Outside of the National Education Association’s building on the city’s busy 16th Street thoroughfare staff members marched with signs reading “Uphold union values” and “NEA: practice what you preach.” Other staffers made runs supplying snacks and water in the sweltering heat; staffers had organized shifts to keep the strike on pace until 5 p.m The one-day work stoppage comes ahead of the NEA’s upcoming Representative Assembly which will draw thousands of union members to Philadelphia over the Fourth of July weekend to vote on the union’s budget and priorities for 2024-25 It is rare that disagreements between the union and its own staff rise to a strike—in part because of the public relations nightmare it presents—and it’s the first time NEA union staff have walked off the job in 50 years NEA Staff Organization President Robin McLean said the national teachers’ union was failing to protect its own staff and follow labor law The organization filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this week alleging that a manager physically assaulted a staffer and later retaliated after the staff member reported the assault It also claimed the NEA has unilaterally changed working conditions without bargaining them and NEA members should question how NEA lives up to its union values at its headquarters,” McLean said in a statement A spokesperson for the NEA said that it “is fully committed to and respects the bargaining process.” It rejected the staff’s accusations of unfair practices saying it had not been notified or cited by the National Labor Relations Board for the staff organization’s allegations when the NLRB receives a charge of an unfair labor practice its agents gather evidence and take statements from the parties An upheld charge can result in a settlement or a complaint adjudicated by an administrative law judge The labor relations board did not immediately respond to a request for comment “NEA has engaged in negotiations in good faith and continues to apply a solutions-based approach to resolve any outstanding issues in a manner that addresses articulated priorities of NEASO while also balancing the strategic priorities of NEA and its members,” the NEA said in a statement The union employs about 500 staff members at its headquarters; about 350 are NEASO members NEASO is one of three bargaining units at NEA The walkout covered employees working in three of the union’s internal divisions: communications and the center for professional excellence It’s not the first time negotiations between the national union and its staff members have reached a boiling point The staff organization has voted several times in recent years to authorize a strike 97 percent of the staff bargaining unit voted to authorize one A strike authorization is a step towards an actual strike though this is the first time the union has stopped work after its vote since 1971 The one-day stoppage is limited to NEASO’s claim of unfair labor practices—it does not directly concern negotiations over the expired contract But the two issues are linked: The contract contained a labor peace clause preventing work stoppages which is no longer in force until a new contract is inked Another expired clause gave managers latitude over working conditions such as how offices are assigned; that is no longer in force and it’s the basis of the NEASO’s claim that the union is violating labor law by failing to bargain over material changes in working conditions The staff organization declined to extend the current contract while it negotiated its next Assistant Managing Editor Stephen Sawchuk reported from Washington A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued until midnight on Tuesday for parts of the DMV WASHINGTON (7News) — Unionized staff working for the National Education Association (NEA) said they have been locked out of the D.C office after protests over current negotiations with one of the nation's largest unions according to the NEA Staff Organization (NEASO) NEA officials told 7News the move was a "protective lockout" for other workers inside its D.C while NEASO officials called it "retaliation." Either way up to 300 NEASO employees haven't been able to enter the Northwest D.C Outside the NEA's headquarters in D.C NEA staff members protested the action with displays drawn in chalk on a sidewalk out front Thousands traveled across the country to attend the NEA conference and NEA officials said the recent protest and another one prior were not federally protected NEASO claimed both protests were federally protected NEASO waited to walk off the job until many members had dropped off their children at an NEA-provided childcare program in the convention center," according to a written statement from the NEA "NEA responded immediately to ensure that every single child in our care was reunited with their parent or guardian This was completely unacceptable on NEASO’s part." a spokesperson from the NEASO shared the following statement with 7News claiming the strike did not impact childcare services during the event “It is appalling for NEA management to imply that NEASO staff abandoned kids in daycare to provide childcare services so NEASO’s strike would not have impacted daycare NEASO members had their children in the daycare on July 5 Nothing about NEASO’s legally protected Unfair Labor Practice strike changes this fact While NEA management wants to resort to desperate lies allow us to get back to work for NEA’s 3 million members A NEASO spokesperson told 7News that some of the impacted staff have stopped receiving paychecks and some have seen impacts to their benefits 7News reached out again to the NEA spokesperson about impacts to pay and benefits and are awaiting a response "The handful of people who are tasked with running the National Education Association are trying to strongarm its staff union into accepting a successor collective bargaining agreement by using intimidation and threats," NEASO President Robin McLean said in a statement "These are clear union-busting techniques that will not be tolerated I cannot imagine it lands well that the nation’s largest union is locking out its staff union." Both sides have reached nine tentative agreements related to pay NEASO members authorized a strike in April Nicole have welcomed a baby girl.The baby named Naeso is their second daughter and third child The proud dad took to Instagram to gush over their new arrival My 2nd daughter Naeso is finally here and I can’t stop looking at her…I’m in love again ❤️❤️❤️I’m forever THANKFUL🙏🏾🙏🏾 Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences CLICK TO COMMENT and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.