NEA Convention 2011: I Wasn’t the Only One Who Missed Biden’s Speech

posted at 4:49 pm on July 3, 2011 by Mike Antonucci
[ Education ]   

So, too, did some of the delegates who waited more than three hours in line to get through security, only to arrive too late for the speech. That’s the bad news.

The good news is Biden’s speech was very well received by the delegates who managed to make it inside the hall in time. Biden told the delegates he had read NEA president Dennis Van Roekel’s keynote speech from yesterday (smart move) and said he “could not find a single, solitary assertion you made in that speech that I don’t wholeheartedly agree with.” Biden also astutely borrowed the same tone and rhetoric, and avoided any bones of contention.

The other bad news is that preliminary indications are he didn’t change too many minds regarding the union’s early endorsement of Obama. I haven’t heard word of a single state affiliate that recommended not to endorse early, but tomorrow’s vote is a secret ballot, and delegates have occasionally been contrarian once those curtains are drawn.

Still, you don’t read this stuff in order to hear me waffle, so my prediction is a victory for the early endorsement, but not much over the required 58%. Let’s say between 63 and 66 percent. It would also be a margin that would allow both sides to claim a sort of victory, but still worry about it.

And while delegates continue to relentlessly bash Arne Duncan, a measure that would have required NEA’s officers – in the event of an early endorsement – to “strongly and clearly inform” the President of the need to listen regularly to public school educators on all matters of education policy, was defeated.

A new business item that directly called for the removal of Duncan as Secretary of Education was also defeated.

In addition, a call to boycott Koch industries and Georgia Pacific was referred to the union’s executive committee without a position from the delegates either way. It was clear from the debate that some delegates knew nothing about the Koch brothers, some knew a little, and some knew quite a bit.

Traditionally, the NEA executive committee rarely institutes a boycott, and I feel confident predicting they won’t institute one this time.

It will be slow going for the next couple of days. There are already 63 new business items, with more on the way. I believe 37 of them are from California, and a lot of those are from Oakland. Keep that in mind as I mention some of these in future posts. Reason #3,476 why California isn’t like where you live.

However, my favorite so far – NBI 46 – came out of Michigan. Not because of the subject matter, which is ginning up constitutional amendments for collective bargaining rights – but because NEA estimates it will cost the union $300 million to try it.

Well, back to work. Apparently I’m missing the flash mob, too.

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