National Educators United is a left-progressive organization which advocates for changes to the education system. The organization has branches in several states, and it wants to make teachers unions like the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers more left-wing. ¹

National Educators United opposes school-choice policies and wants to unionize the staff of charter schools. ² It also supports the policies of Black Lives Matter at School, including mandating teaching African-American history and defunding school police. ³ It also calls for left-of-center tax increases and other policies like government-run single-payer healthcare and liberal expansionist immigration policy. ⁴

Organization

National Educators United was founded on December 14, 2019, by teachers from Arizona, California, Indiana, New Jersey, Kentucky, Oregon, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and several other states. ⁵ The organization says that it wants to democratize and change teachers unions like the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers. ⁶ It claimed that these unions are “top-down, ‘business unions,’ historically in partnership with corporate political parties, while NEU envisions reforming our unions to be bottom-up, ‘class struggle’ organizations.” ⁷

Agenda

Black Lives Matter

National Educators United says it supports the demands of Black Lives Matter at School. The organization says states should mandate teaching Black history and ethnic studies in schools, and public schools should also hire more Black teachers and defund school police to hire more school counselors. ⁸

In addition, National Educators United calls for enacting numerous other left-wing policy priorities, including changing detention policies at the southern border, providing more housing for low-income people, enacting single-payer government-run healthcare, eliminating poverty for children, and reducing income inequality. ⁹

Education Funding

National Educators United says schools should limit class sizes and “mandate professional and equitable wages.” ¹⁰ The organization also says the federal government should enact higher income and capital gains taxes especially for higher earners, along with ending alleged special tax treatment for millionaires and businesses. ¹¹

School Choice

National Educators United opposes school choice policies that have been enacted by many state legislatures. The organization says states should prohibit new charter schools and unionize the staff of existing charter schools, and it also says that states should end voucher and neo-voucher programs. ¹² National Educators United also says schools should “end high stakes accountability systems” and teacher performance evaluations. ¹³

1. National Educators United. “About NEU.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/about. Accessed May 22, 2023.
2. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
3. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
4. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
5. National Educators United. “About NEU.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/about. Accessed May 22, 2023.
6. National Educators United. “About NEU.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/about. Accessed May 22, 2023.
7. National Educators United. “About NEU.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/about. Accessed May 22, 2023.
8. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
9. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
10. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
11. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
12. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.
13. National Educators United. “Demands.” https://www.nationaleducatorsunited.org/demands. Accessed May 22, 2023.