Meet Your Union

The National Education Association is the largest labor union in the country. We are a community of teachers, nurses, paraeducators, counselors, custodians, bus drivers, higher education faculty, parents, and community members—all working together for students and public schools.  

By joining together, we have more power to advocate for: 

• Better pay and benefits 
• Better working conditions 
• Better learning conditions for our students 

Unions and Educator Voice

Add to Your Toolbox: Union Explainers

Being part of a union can be a new experience for many educators. But don't worry, your union family is here to help you get started. 

1. Key Union Terms and What They Mean
2. Understanding Your Union Contract
3. The Union Difference: Fair Pay and Benefits
4. A Map of Union Wins in Every State
5. Beginner's Guide to Collective Bargaining

These resources explain key terms, understand union benefits (like pensions, health care, and your union contract), and point you in the right direction to connect at the local level.

Become a Union Member

As part of the largest labor union in the country, with almost three million members, we work together to ensure that educators and public employees have a stronger voice. 

It is legal to join in every state! We regularly meet with school administrators, school boards, and lawmakers from both parties to advocate for higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions for educators. 

Become a Member 

Add to Your Toolbox: NEA Membership Types

NEA members fall into six categories, click through the links below to learn more about each one!

• Classroom Teachers
• Education Support Professionals
• Specialized Instructional Support Personnel
• Public Service Employees
• Retired/Pre-Retired Educator
• Aspiring Educator
• Community Ally

NEA members are as diverse as the students we represent, but united in our purpose: championing justice and excellence in public education. We hope you will join us!

Spread the Word Online

Social media is a key place for educators to learn about and get involved with their union. Your perspective is valuable, both to your colleagues and to policy makers, community members, and thought leaders.

Add to Your Toolbox: Online Organizing Conversation Starters

Looking for a way to start the conversation around membership online? We created the "Let's Talk About" series to provide you talking points, graphics, and sample copy to discuss issues we know educators care about:

• Student Debt Toolkit
• Health Care Toolkit
• Pension Toolkit
• Union 101 Toolkit
• Membership Recruitment Toolkit
• Year-Round Organizing Cards Toolkit
• Early Enrollment Membership Toolkit

In addition to the tools included above, think about sharing a personal message to your feeds that answers one or more of the following questions:

• What difference has union membership made in your life?
• Why do you believe educator voices are important?
• What improvements would you like to see at your school?

These answers can be done in text form, through graphics, or in a quick video. The key is authenticity and a strong call-to-action.

Talk to My Colleagues About Membership

Our Guide to Transformational Organizing Conversations includes a conversation cheat sheet, preparation advice, tips from fellow organizers, talking points, and answers to frequently asked questions. 

Guide to Organizing Conversations

Add to Your Toolbox: Our Year-Round Organizing Framework

NEA's Year-Round Organizing Framework centers around key field strategies that naturally flow through each of the four seasonal components of a typical school year. We've developed tools to help you bring Year-Round Organizing strategies to your school:

• Meet the Year-Round Organizing Seasonal Campaigns
• Guide to Five Key Organizing Strategies
• Year-Round Organizing Interest Cards
• Recruitment Communications Toolkit
• Worksite Visits 101
• Building Strong Organizing Lists

One-on-one conversations are the most effective way to share the importance of membership to fellow educators. When members speak about how their local makes a difference in their own work, community, and personal lives, you can be an influential force in building power in the union. 

Sign Up for Professional Learning

From our podcast series on professional learning to over 175 short, competency-based micro-credentials, NEA experts—our staff, affiliates, and members—have created tools to help educators build on the skills needed to join, stay in, and advance our profession:

• School Me Podcast
• Blended Learning Courses 
• Micro-credentials 
• WETA Partnership Collection of Educational Resources 

More Professional Learning

Add to Your Toolbox: Career Growth Continuums 

At every stage of your career, NEA helps you grow into your passion and be a leader for your students:

• Teacher Licensure 
• Higher Ed Professional Growth 
• ESP Professional Growth 
• Teacher Professional Growth 
• Leadership Development 
• Conferences and Events 

Help My Students Feel Safe and Supported

Students of every race, background, and zip code deserve the freedom to learn and pursue their dreams. We are building and growing a community of educators and community members committed to advancing education justice in public education so that every student feels safe and supported.

Education Justice Action Center

Add to Your Toolbox: Making Change in Your School

Change starts with us! NEA’s toolkits are designed to be used by anyone advocating for the rights of students and educators, no matter where you are in your activism journey:

• Trauma-Informed Practices
• Restorative Practices
• Responding to Gun Violence
• How to Identify Bullying
• Education Justice Posters for Your School
• Read Across America's Calendar of Diverse Books
• Student and Educator Mental Health
• Supporting Students with Differing Abilities
• LGBTQ+ Student Protection and Support
• Racial Justice for All Students
• Gender Empowerment at School
• Supporting Immigrant Families and Students
• Teach Truth: Know Your Rights

Advocate for Pro-Public Education Policies

When we unite and speak truth to power, we can have an enormous impact. We’ll secure fully-funded public schools. We’ll dismantle unjust systems. We’ll give our students the opportunities they need to succeed. 

Find the latest actions you can take to protect and improve public schools on the national level below.

NEA Action Center

EdVotes for Pro-Public Education

Add to Your Toolbox: Tools for Local Advocacy

In addition to victories on the national level, NEA members are making a difference in our communities and across every state. We have tools to help you get started:

• Issue Backgrounders
• Advocate for Pay and Benefits
• Advocate for School Funding
• Advocate for Healthy Buildings & Systems
• Advocate for Gun Violence Prevention
• Advocate for Better Student Assessments
• EdActivist Toolkit, Trainings, and App
• Local Volunteer Opportunities
• How to Run for Public Office
• Sample School Board Policies for Student Success

The National Education Association’s Legislative Program encapsulates our priorities for advocating in Congress for federal laws that support public K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions, student learning, and educators.

Negotiate a Fair Contract

Collective bargaining is a process through which the union and employer exchange proposals, share ideas, mutually solve problems, and reach a written agreement. 

Collective Bargaining Basics

Add to Your Toolbox: Ideas for Your Next Negotiation

These tools are designed to help you understand collective bargaining and to inform your strategy for future contract negotiations:

• The Benefits of Collective Bargaining in Public Education
• The Power of Collective Bargaining for ESPs
• The Five Stages of Collective Bargaining
• Bargaining for the Common Good
• Bargaining for Bathroom Breaks
• Bargaining for Job Security
• Bargaining for More Time
• Bargaining to Support Educator Mental Health
• Why Your Union Needs a Contract Action Team
• How to Be Strike-Ready
• Teacher Strikes Lead to Higher Pay, Lower Class Sizes, and More State Funds

Not sure if your state has collective bargaining rights? Check with our interactive map. 

If you don't have collective bargaining rights, you can still make a difference for staff, students, and schools! Be like Virginia and advocate to win or expand your collective bargaining rights and/or create change by using your union power to shape pro-public education policy on the school board, state, and national level.

Thank you for taking the time to help build a stronger union.

We know that a bigger union gives us a stronger voice—and the ability to protect and transform our profession, our schools, and our communities. Every member can play a role in growing the union, whether or not they have had formal training. Sometimes all it takes is starting a conversation, answering questions, and extending an invitation. 

Wondering where to get started? Take our quiz!

Whether it's your nature to speak up loudly or work behind the scenes quietly, our union is made up of many different types of activists. Take our short quiz to find out what kind of changemaker you are.

Take Our Quiz