Ask the leaders of these award-winning NEA-Retired chapters’ union.
We’re all about union pride,” says Julie Jagusch, president of Education Minnesota-Retired. By joining the association, former educators can “still be a member of our union” and maintain a voice in legislative issues and campaigns, access NEA Member Benefit programs, and stay connected to their educator friends and colleagues.
That message, alongside Education Minnesota-Retired’s dues strategy, helped propel its leaders into the winner’s circle at the NEA-Retired Annual Meeting in July, where four NEA-Retired affiliates were honored for their membership growth.
Last year, Education Minnesota- Retired led the way with a 5.7 percent increase, followed by Federal Education Association (FEA)-Retired with 4.8 percent. Meanwhile, Kentucky Education Association (KEA)-Retired grew by 542 members and Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA)-Retired by 486.
Tried-and-True Strategies
Both KEA-Retired and Education Minnesota-Retired use a “continuous membership” strategy, approved by their state Representative Assembly or convention. In Kentucky, after paying an additional $5 a year during their active years, retirees are enrolled automatically in KEA-Retired. In Minnesota, retirees still have to sign up, but are also pre-paid.
This increases retired membership, but doesn’t eliminate all of their challenges, says Brenda McGown of KEA-Retired. “Our chore is getting people involved!” Personal letters from former colleagues, plus regional newsletters and Facebook help.
For FEA-Retired, some recent growth is a by-product of the current administration’s hostility. Former FEA President Michael Priser, who retired in June, notes that Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) administrators eliminated 300 jobs last year by cutting academic programs and boosting class sizes. Union leaders anticipate their next contract will further erode working conditions and benefits, while increasing workload. “Because our schools are so good, people have tended to stay,” says Priser. “But some people see the writing on the wall.”
Many of these retiring FEA educators are great leaders, notes FEA-Retired’s Trudy Pollard, who retired in 2010.
Recently, Pollard and Priser won an NEA organizing grant, which will help provide specific resources for retiring educators and federal employees.
Creating Community
Meanwhile, PSEA-Retired President Mary Moran attributes the group’s success to regional leaders who obtain lists of retiring educators and write welcome letters to every recent retiree.
The leaders invite the educators to get-to-know-us breakfasts or receptions, or other meetings. “If we don’t get them before June, we lose them. Over the summer, like all people who retire, they go in all directions,” she warns.
A personal invitation is the most effective recruitment tool, she says. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get!”
