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Organizing Tools - Recruitment

Growing Our Union Together
With more members, we can have an even stronger voice to raise wages, improve working conditions, and create the schools our students deserve.

How to use this toolkit

  • Learn how to communicate about union membership and the meaningful changes won by educators in your area and across the country.
  • Access key resources that highlight the power of the union, including information on pension, student debt, healthcare, and more.
  • Find videos, graphics, and downloadable posters to help you spread the word about your membership drive.
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Talking About Your Union

Thank you for taking the time to help build a stronger union. As you engage with potential members you might encounter some tough questions. This section will help you start recruitment conversations and navigate those questions while highlighting all that educators are achieving at the local, state, and national levels.

Anyone can now join the union straight from their phone! Have them text JOIN to 48744 to get started.  

Transformational Organizing Conversations

Click through each tab to explore research-backed messages on the power of joining your union.
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Together a stronger voice for educators

Joining adds your voice to thousands of educators just like us across the state and millions of educators across the country to accomplish things one educator, one bus driver, one janitor, or even one district can’t. 

As a union, we regularly meet with school administrators, school boards, and lawmakers from both major political parties to advocate for higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions for educators.

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Together for our students

When educators are heard, respected, and given the resources we need, we can give students our very best. 

Great educators create great public schools. Your union is here to help you get the training, tools, and community support you need to engage students, advance education justice, and excel in your profession.

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Together we deliver real change

When we speak up as part of our local union, we can advocate for significant changes like increased salaries or cost-of-living adjustments. Additionally, we have already secured improved health care benefits, comprehensive student loan forgiveness and repayment programs, and discounts on school-related items—things that improve our daily lives as educators.  

We’re making progress, but, with more members like you, we can have an even stronger voice. 

Understanding Your Union

We’ve created tools and explainers about unions, health care, and pensions that you can send to potential members to help them understand the power of membership.
a teacher looks into the camera with her students in the background

Better Pay and Benefits

Fair pay and fair benefits ensure the best and brightest can join and stay in our profession–for that’s what our communities deserve.
Competitive Pay Retirement Security Quality Health Care
Black educator working with black teen in school library

Professional Growth

Professional learning throughout an educator’s career is essential to achieving great public schools.
Teacher Professional Growth ESP Professional Growth Higher Ed Professional Growth
educators at a table for collective bargaining

Our Collective Voice

By using our collective voice and the power of bargaining, we win higher wages, improved benefits, and better working conditions.
Union Terms to Know Get to Know Your Union Contract Bargaining in Your State

Find Your Place in the Union

Whether it's your nature 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

Conversation Starters

Looking for a way to start the conversation around membership? We have tools to help!

Use these prompts to start a conversation with someone following an initial contact. You can also change them a bit and use them to reach out to someone you haven't heard from in a while.

Let's Talk About...

Complete this sentence and get connect to tools to help you talk about the important issues with potential members!
I want to learn more about so I can organize for better for my community.
Access Tools

Year-Round Organizing Cards 

The Year-Round Organizing card is an important tool for gathering the contact information of educators who are interested in learning about or getting more involved in the union. When educators fill out the card, they will receive opportunities that: 

  • Support educators to grow in their professional practice.  
  • Help elect pro-public education candidates from both parties.  
  • Get the word out about ways to work together to improve working conditions.  
  • Work to increase education funding at your school, district and state. 

Every state has their own Year-Round Organizing card. Text CONNECT to 48744 to be connected directly with your state. 

Spread the Word!

Sharing the Year-Round Organizing card with fellow educators is a great way to introduce them to the union if they are not yet ready to join or to connect existing members with ways to get more involved. Copy and paste the text below to send them to potential members on your social feeds, email, or cell phone.

Share these Messages

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On Social Media

By banding together, NEA members impact meaningful change for educators and students.  

Sign up to receive more information, opportunities involved, and monthly resources for your career and classroom: join.nea.org/connect/ 

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On Email

Dear [Insert Name], 

When educators are heard, respected, and given the resources we need, we can give students our very best. As part of the largest labor union in the country, with almost three million members, we work together to ensure that educators like you have a stronger voice. 

  • We regularly advocate for higher salaries and improved working conditions. 
  • We meet with lawmakers from both political parties to make sure our voices are being heard and respected. 
  • We work hand in hand with school administrators and school boards to improve our daily lives as educators. 
  • We make sure that educators have the resources we need to give students our best. 

By filling out this form, you'll gain access to monthly resources for your classroom and opportunities to get involved with educators at the local, state, and national level.  

We cannot thank you enough for all you do, and all you will do, to change the lives of your students. Please let me know if you have any questions about our union or how you can get involved. 

In solidarity, 

[Insert Your Name] 

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On Text Message

Educators are the best advocates for our schools, our students & ourselves. Sign up to learn more about NEA & our community: join.nea.org/connect/

Show Your Union Pride

Copy and paste the social media messages to share on your feeds and share these videos and graphics with your friends and colleagues to spread the word about the ways membership makes public education stronger.

Share on Social Media

NEA educators deliver real change. We meet with school administrators and lawmakers from both political parties to make sure our voices are being heard and respected. Text JOIN to 48744 to become a member today!
Together, our union has successfully raised educator wages, improved working conditions, supported student loan forgiveness, and made sure the voices of educators are actually heard. Text JOIN to 48744 to become a member today!
Together we’re stronger. Together we’re heard. With more members like you, educators will have an even stronger voice to improve our daily lives the lives of our students. Text JOIN to 48744 to join us today!

Share At Your Event

Play these videos at your events to share why educators should join their union.
Black student with glasses smiles with subtitle "because it gives you a voice."
White main in white shirt and tie does science experiment with white blonde boy in a classroom.
Black woman teacher sitting with subtitle "and I always have somebody that I know that's in my corner.
Teacher in front of projection with subtitle "make our educations system better and more efficient."
Black student with glasses sets up an experiment in a classroom with subtitle "And the union is that voice."
Two educators stand outside school bus with subtitle "we look out for each other."

Share at School

Hang these posters to show your colleagues why you are proud of your union membership. Click on each image to download and print.

Together we're stronger. Together we're heard. Become a member today! Text TOGETHER to 48744.
Together we're stronger. Together we're heard. Become a member today! Text TOGETHER to 48744.

Together we are stronger. Together we are heard. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to add your voice.
Together we are stronger. Together we are heard. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to add your voice.

Join now! Together we are stronger. Together we are heard. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to add your voice.
Join now! Together we are stronger. Together we are heard. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to add your voice.

Join your union! Join the National Education Association now for our schools, our students, and each other. Together we're stronger. Together we're heard. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to add your voice.
Join your union! Join the National Education Association now for our schools, our students, and each other. Together we're stronger. Together we're heard. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to add your voice.

Together. A Stronger Voice. Together We're Stronger. Together We're Heard.
Together. A Stronger Voice. Together We're Stronger. Together We're Heard.

Together we're stronger. Together we're heard. Our working conditions are our student's learning conditions. Become part of your association! We're stronger when with more members like you. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to join.
Together we're stronger. Together we're heard. Our working conditions are our student's learning conditions. Become part of your association! We're stronger when with more members like you. Text TOGETHER to 48744 to join.

When more educators join our union, we will have an even stronger voice to improve our daily lives and the lives of our students.

Have the conversation with your colleagues today! 

MORE ORGANIZING TOOLS AND RESOURCES

NEA's organizing experts have created conversation starters, how-to guides, and programmatic supports to help your organizing campaigns.
educators at a table for collective bargaining

Conversation Guides

Looking for a way to start the conversation around membership? We’ve created tools and explainers about the issues our members care about most.
Transformational Conversation Guide Conversation Starters: Pensions Organizing Tools: Student Debt
two teachers talking in an empty classroom

Year-Round Organizing Framework

NEA members and staff are working together to grow our union. Learn more about NEA's Year-Round Organizing Framework and the four seasonal campaigns
Year-Round Organizing Framework Year-Round Organizing Cards Solidarity With All Workers
union and collective bargaining art build

NEA's Guides to Organizing

From worksite visits to list acquisition, these straightforward guides provide the information you need to do effective organizing work in your schools and beyond.
Guide to Field Strategies Guide to Worksite Visits Guide to Building Lists

Your Rights and Workplace

When educators are heard, respected, and given the resources we need, we can give our students our very best. NEA provides information to help you access fair pay and fair benefits.
Teacher with elementary school students

Join Us

Becoming a member of the National Education Association connects you with a movement of educators supporting each other. We are a community that will help you advocate for the funding, resources, and support you and your students deserve.
National Education Association logo

Great public schools for every student

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.
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