STOPPING NEA RAIDS ON PSRP

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers has a long and successful history of organizing, representing, and achieving benefits for paraprofessional/school-related personnel; and

WHEREAS, other AFL-CIO-affiliated unions also represent paraprofessionals/school-related personnel; and

WHEREAS, the National Education Association did not even allow paraprofessional/school-related personnel voting rights or to hold office until forced to do so by a court decision; and

WHEREAS, many NEA state affiliates still deny paraprofessional/ school-related personnel full membership and voting rights, yet will accept their dues money; and

WHEREAS, the NEA has and continues to engage in raiding attempts against AFT and other AFL-CIO affiliates representing paraprofessional/ school-related personnel; and

WHEREAS, as part of their raiding campaigns, NEA engages routinely in vicious attacks on the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions in an effort to create misunderstanding, fear, and anti-union sentiment to their own advantage:

RESOLVED, that AFT continue in the tradition begun in the early 1960s to vigorously represent paraprofessional/school-related personnel members and redouble its commitment to organizing paraprofessional/ school-related personnel; publicize NEA's anti-union and slanderous attacks on the AFL-CIO within the labor community and disseminate accurate information among paraprofessional/school-related personnel throughout the United States; and join with other AFL-CIO affiliates to defeat NEA attacks and raid attempts.