The NEA Endorses Clinton, But a High Number of Abstentions Suggest a Split in Union Support

Eskelsen García also promised that now — months before the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucus — is the ideal time for the union's endorsement. “This is exactly the right time if you're going to impact the primaries," she assured Politico this weekend.

However, in the hours following the vote, a rank-and-file backlash against the endorsement seemed to gain steam. And Sunday, an in-depth analysis of the roll-call tally by the Education Intelligence Agency revealed a startlingly high number of top-level abstentions, sparking new questions about political divides within the association

NEA representatives from five states abstained from endorsing Clinton. Two of the abstaining states are California and New Jersey — huge powerhouses in the world of teachers unions politics. The New Jersey contingent of teachers was exceptionally outspoken about opposing a Clinton endorsement at this point in the primary season.

"In conversation with President Eskelsen García, I have expressed my concern that an early endorsement does not allow members to be active participants in the kinds of discussion and debate that are central to a democratic union," Massachusetts Teachers Association president Barbara Madeloni said.

The Nebraska delegation, which also rejected Clinton, expressed similar reservations. "We are concerned that an early recommendation does not allow members to be participants in a real debate around the issues that are still unfolding," Nebraska State Education Association president Nancy Fulton explained. "A recommendation this early in the process is premature."

Public criticism of the NEA endorsement of Clinton was swift and strong. At the LA Progressive, teacher and education blogger Steven Singer charged that the NEA sought to increase support for Clinton rather than assess her worth as a candidate. Citing unidentified NEA sources, Singer claimed that America's largest teachers union had prescreened questions asked during an interview of Clinton and then limited a post-call discussion to people who gushed about her.

Individual teachers who belong to and pay dues to support the NEA expressed dissatisfaction after the endorsement. "I'm very disappointed," Marie Corfield, a New Jersey art teacher, told The Washington Post. "I think the NEA is going to get a lot of pushback from its members over this."

The Badass Teachers Association, a stridently left-wing group of about 70,000 public school teachers, harshly criticized the NEA's rash endorsement of Hillary. "First and foremost, none of the Democratic candidates have made clear their position on public education," the group declared. "Secondly, there has not been an open Democratic debate in which the candidates have discussed their positions on public education."

According to The Bern Report, the NEA vote "to ram this endorsement down the throats of the rank and file" may "actually very much work to Bernie Sanders' advantage." The pro-Sanders spin is that the NEA's hasty Clinton endorsement "lights a fire like no other" in the angry bosoms of teachers who support Sanders and will vote in Democratic primaries and caucuses.

The executive council of the American Federation of Teachers has already endorsed Clinton in a similarly overwhelming fashion. "In vision, in experience and in leadership, Hillary Clinton is the champion working families need in the White House," Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said of Clinton.