NC Teachers Abandoning Unions (Defectors say they're professionals, don't like partisanship of NEA)

By Donna Martinez
Carolina Journal

RALEIGH — To many, the National Education Association is as synonymous with public-school teachers as the Teamsters is with truck drivers. The group boasts nationwide membership of 2.7 million people, while its state affiliate, the North Carolina Association of Educators, reportedly has nearly 50,000 active members who pay full-time dues and work in North Carolina schools. As the national organized labor movement faces defections and criticism from unsatisfied members, North Carolina teachers are doing the same. More frequently they’re turning to smaller, independent teacher groups with missions closely tied to education and less intertwined with social and political causes the NEA has championed.