Vermont-NEA is the National Education Association-affiliated state-level federation of teachers’ unions in Vermont. ¹ It is the largest union in Vermont with almost 13,000 members. ^{2 3}

Overview

Vermont-NEA is the statewide teachers’ union in Vermont, representing 11,440 active and 1,177 retired members in the state. ⁴ That membership makes it the largest union in Vermont, giving it a powerful role in the state’s politics. ^{5 6}

The president of VT-NEA is Donald Tinney, a former English teacher and National Education Association board member who was first elected president in 2019. ⁷

Political and Policy Activism

Vermont-NEA promotes broad teachers’ union priorities and supports Democratic Party candidates and policies, including increased funding to government-operated school districts, opposition to charter schools and other forms of educational choice, increased funding for teacher pensions, and opposition to standardized testing. ⁸

It operates the Vermont-NEA Fund for Children and Public Education PAC, which spent a reported $93,970 in the 2022 election cycle. ⁹

One of VT-NEA’s primary legislative priorities is a so-called “Vermont Educators’ Bill of Rights.”  ¹⁰ The legislation includes provisions such as a $30 per hour minimum wage for all school support staff, a $60,000 minimum salary for all teachers, full defined-benefit pensions, additional “prep time” outside classes during the workday, and increased school staffing. ¹¹

VT-NEA is opposed to Vermont’s Town Tuitioning Program, which is the oldest school choice program in operation in the United States, according to education policy organization EdChoice. ^{12 13} The program allows students in towns that do not have public schools to attend the private or public school of their family’s choice, with the tuition paid by their hometown. ¹⁴

2016 Presidential Primaries

In 2016, the VT-NEA rejected the national National Education Association endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primaries, choosing instead to support Vermont’s U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). ¹⁵

Current VT-NEA president Donald Tinney, who at the time was VT-NEA’s representative on the NEA board of directors, reportedly told his fellow NEA members, “Since when do we as unionists – who proclaim we now embrace an organizing model – stay content with a seat at the table? We’ve had our seats at the table, and that has brought us the likes of [Obama administration Education Secretary] Arne Duncan. I say we act like the nation’s largest union. I say we harness the power of our membership, regardless of how scary it may seem. I say we let this process play out longer, that we listen to our fellow members more closely (a poll showing that more than half of our members don’t support Hillary should be a reason to pause), and that we learn from the debates.” ¹⁶

Zoie Saunders Nomination

In 2024, Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) appointed Zoie Saunders to be the state’s Secretary of Education. VT-NEA president Donald Tinney criticized Governor Scott for Saunders’ selection, as she had held an executive role at a for-profit charter school network after a series of leadership roles in public school districts in Florida that included chief education officer for the City of Fort Lauderdale. ^{17 18}

VT-NEA lobbied strongly against Saunders’ confirmation by the Vermont State Senate, and the Vermont Democratic Party made opposition to her a priority. ¹⁹ After the Senate’s Education Committee supported her nomination by a 3 to 2 vote, Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (D) wrote an email to his political supporters encouraging them to contact state Senators to vote against Saunders. ²⁰ In the message, Zuckerman claimed that Saunders had worked for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), which she had not. ²¹ Later, during the Senate debate over her confirmation, Zuckerman admitted the error and apologized to Saunders. ²²

In April 2024, the Democratic-majority Senate rejected Saunders’ nomination by a 9 to 19 margin, falling largely along partisan lines with three Democrats voting to approve her along with the six Republicans in attendance. ^{23 24} This result was virtually unprecedented, with state political observers not able to remember when the Senate had last rejected a gubernatorial cabinet nominee. ^{25 26}

State Senator Ann Cummings (D), who voted against Saunders, said she had “never felt this bad about Vermont” after the vote but that she had opposed her nomination because of the VT-NEA’s opposition, saying “I cannot in good conscience ask somebody to come here and do that very difficult job when 99% of the people that she’s going to have to work with have already declared her anathema.” ²⁷

After the vote, Governor Scott immediately re-appointed Saunders to serve as interim secretary of education until at least March 1, 2025. ²⁸

1. “Vermont-NEA (VT-NEA).” Vermont-NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/.
2. “Our Purpose, History, & Structure.” Vermont-NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/about-vt-nea/our-purpose-history-structure.
3. “FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT – VERMONT-NATIONAL EDUCATION ASN” United States Department of Labor, November 14, 2023. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/getOrgQry.do
4. “FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT – VERMONT-NATIONAL EDUCATION ASN” United States Department of Labor, November 14, 2023. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/getOrgQry.do
5. “Our Purpose, History, & Structure.” Vermont-NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/about-vt-nea/our-purpose-history-structure.
6. “Vermont.” Ballotpedia. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Vermont.
7. “Our Leaders.” Vermont-NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/about-vt-nea/our-leaders.
8. “Advocating for Change.” Vermont-NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/advocating-change.
9. “CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT ELECTIONS DIVISION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE” Vermont Secretary of State Elections Division, December 15, 2022. https://campaignfinance.vermont.gov/Public/ViewFiledReports
10. “Vermont Educators’ Bill of Rights.” Vermont-NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/billofrights/about.
11. “Vermont Educators’ Bill of Rights.” Vermont-NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/billofrights/about.
12. “Vermont – Town Tuitioning Program.” EdChoice, April 15, 2024. https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/vermont-town-tuitioning-program/.
13. “Support Public Schools: Vermont.” NEA. Accessed August 31, 2024. https://vtnea.org/supportpublicschools.
14. “Vermont – Town Tuitioning Program.” EdChoice, April 15, 2024. https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/vermont-town-tuitioning-program/.
15. Allen, Martha. “NEA’s Recommendation of Hillary Changes Nothing.” Vermont-NEA, October 6, 2015. https://www.eiaonline.com/files/nea-s%20recommendation%20of%20hillary%20changes%20nothing.pdf.
16. Allen, Martha. “NEA’s Recommendation of Hillary Changes Nothing.” Vermont-NEA, October 6, 2015. https://www.eiaonline.com/files/nea-s%20recommendation%20of%20hillary%20changes%20nothing.pdf.
17. “Meet the Secretary.” Vermont Agency of Education, 2024. https://education.vermont.gov/about-us/meet-secretary.
18. Tinney, Don. “Vermont-NEA President Don Tinney’s Statement on Governor Scott’s Ed Secretary Nomination: Vermont.” NEA, March 27, 2024. https://vtnea.org/about-vt-nea/media-center/press-releases/vermont-nea-president-don-tinneys-statement-governor
19. Duffort, Lola. “The Vermont Senate Declined to Confirm Education Secretary Zoie Saunders. She’ll Serve Anyway.” Vermont Public, April 30, 2024. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-04-30/the-vermont-senate-declined-to-confirm-education-secretary-zoie-saunders-shell-serve-anyway.
20.   Weinstein, Ethan. “Citing ‘toxic’ Debate, Phil Scott Calls on Senate to Delay Vote on Zoie Saunders for Education Secretary.” VTDigger, April 29, 2024. https://vtdigger.org/2024/04/29/phil-scott-calls-on-senate-to-push-back-confirmation-vote-on-zoie-saunders-for-education-secretary/.
21. Weinstein, Ethan. “Citing ‘toxic’ Debate, Phil Scott Calls on Senate to Delay Vote on Zoie Saunders for Education Secretary.” VTDigger, April 29, 2024. https://vtdigger.org/2024/04/29/phil-scott-calls-on-senate-to-push-back-confirmation-vote-on-zoie-saunders-for-education-secretary/.
22. Duffort, Lola. “The Vermont Senate Declined to Confirm Education Secretary Zoie Saunders. She’ll Serve Anyway.” Vermont Public, April 30, 2024. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-04-30/the-vermont-senate-declined-to-confirm-education-secretary-zoie-saunders-shell-serve-anyway.
23. Weinstein, Ethan. “After Vermont Senate Refuses to Confirm Zoie Saunders, Phil Scott Names Her Interim Education Secretary.” VTDigger, April 30, 2024. https://vtdigger.org/2024/04/30/vermont-senate-rejects-zoie-saunders-as-state-education-secretary/.
24. Duffort, Lola. “The Vermont Senate Declined to Confirm Education Secretary Zoie Saunders. She’ll Serve Anyway.” Vermont Public, April 30, 2024. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-04-30/the-vermont-senate-declined-to-confirm-education-secretary-zoie-saunders-shell-serve-anyway.
25. Duffort, Lola. “The Vermont Senate Declined to Confirm Education Secretary Zoie Saunders. She’ll Serve Anyway.” Vermont Public, April 30, 2024. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-04-30/the-vermont-senate-declined-to-confirm-education-secretary-zoie-saunders-shell-serve-anyway.
26. Weinstein, Ethan. “After Vermont Senate Refuses to Confirm Zoie Saunders, Phil Scott Names Her Interim Education Secretary.” VTDigger, April 30, 2024. https://vtdigger.org/2024/04/30/vermont-senate-rejects-zoie-saunders-as-state-education-secretary/.
27. Duffort, Lola. “The Vermont Senate Declined to Confirm Education Secretary Zoie Saunders. She’ll Serve Anyway.” Vermont Public, April 30, 2024. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-04-30/the-vermont-senate-declined-to-confirm-education-secretary-zoie-saunders-shell-serve-anyway.
28. Duffort, Lola. “The Vermont Senate Declined to Confirm Education Secretary Zoie Saunders. She’ll Serve Anyway.” Vermont Public, April 30, 2024. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-04-30/the-vermont-senate-declined-to-confirm-education-secretary-zoie-saunders-shell-serve-anyway.