Aaron Chapin is the president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association,  the Pennsylvania state teachers union affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United States.

Aaron Chapin became president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association in September 2023 after serving as the teachers union’s vice president and regional president, as well as the president of his local Stroudsburg Area Education Association. ¹

Stroudsburg Teachers’ Strike

When he was the president of the Stroudsburg Area Education Association, Chapin oversaw a contentious multi-year battle over his union’s contract that included a teacher’s strike but delivered little benefit to his union’s members. ²

In February 2017, Chapin led nearly 400 Stroudsburg Area Education Association members out on strike to demand increased salaries and benefits. The school district leadership said that meeting the union’s demands would require raising property taxes. ³

The strike was the first by the town’s teachers since the 1980s. It lasted five days, one day less than the maximum allowable six days that would have triggered non-binding arbitration under Pennsylvania law. ⁴

One experienced labor attorney who represented the Stroudsburg school district in its negotiations with the union testified to a Pennsylvania State House hearing that Stroudsburg’s teachers enjoyed “a health benefit plan of unparalleled richness” that was “almost perfect” under the Affordable Care Act’s methodology of measuring the value of health plans. ⁵

The teachers threatened to strike again if their demands were not met, while the district pointed at a $3.6 million projected budget deficit for 2018-19 as evidence that it could not afford to meet the union’s demands. ^{6 7 8}

With the assistance of a state mediator, the union and district finally agreed to a new contract in August 2019, despite Chapin’s reported opposition to the final deal. ⁹

Policy and political activities

As Pennsylvania State Education Association vice president and president, Chapin has worked to advance the political and policy priorities of the National Education Association. He has opposed school choice, ¹⁰ teacher pension reforms, ^{11 12} and standardized testing as a mechanism for assessing teacher performance ^{13 14} while supporting increased teacher pay, ^{15 16 17} more education funding, ¹⁸ and increases to the statutory minimum wage. ¹⁹

Campaigning for Democratic Candidates

Chapin has been an active participant in Democratic Party campaigns. In September 2022, he held a press conference to claim that a vote for then-Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano was “a vote against public education” and to campaign for the election of the Democratic candidate, then-state attorney general Josh Shapiro. ²⁰

In June 2023, Chapin led 350 PSEA members and members of other unions at a re-election rally for President Joe Biden in Philadelphia. Chapin said that PSEA members had to “start now and work hard” to re-elect Biden. ²¹

COVID-19

In June 2020, less than two months from the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, Chapin told the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee that schools in the state “cannot open safely” without more than $1 billion in emergency federal education funding. ²²

Pennsylvania’s schools would eventually be allocated $7,749,280,612 through the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and other federal education programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state reported spending just $858,234,087 of that money by the end of the 2020-21 school year. ²³

In August 2020, Chapin told the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee that the PSEA supported a 100 percent masking requirement for all students, teachers and staff for the entire school year. ²⁴

1. “PSEA President Aaron Chapin.” Pennsylvania State Education Association. Accessed September 19, 2023. https://www.psea.org/about-psea/leadership/psea-officers/psea-president2/.
2. Scott, Andrew. “Closing in on Possible Deal.” Pocono Record, June 20, 2018. https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/education/2018/06/19/closing-in-on-possible-deal/11933757007/.
3. Mataloni, Author: Carmella. “Stroudsburg Area Teachers Strike.” WNEP, February 6, 2017. https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/stroudsburg-area-teachers-strike/523-fb3c9617-b0ec-4ddc-8a34-ea8a911c514b.
4. Bugda, Jayne Ann. “Teacher Strike Ends in Stroudsburg Area School Distriict, For Now.” PAhomepage.com, February 10, 2017. https://www.pahomepage.com/news/teacher-strike-ends-in-stroudsburg-area-school-distriict-for-now/.
5. Sultanik, Jeffrey T. “TESTIMONY ON PUBLIC HEARING ON TEACHERS’ STRIKES IN PENNSYLVANIA AND PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE RELIEF” Pennsylvania Senate GOP, April 18, 2018. https://pasenategop.com/education/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/sultanik.pdf.
6. Lowry, Chandi. “Stroudsburg Area Teachers Threaten to Strike Again If No Deal Is Reached.” WFMZ.com, February 14, 2017. https://www.wfmz.com/news/stroudsburg-area-teachers-threaten-to-strike-again-if-no-deal-is-reached/article_0f0a44ca-46e4-59e8-b3e2-279a85132092.html.
7. Campbell, Patrick. “District and Teachers Still at Odds over Contract.” Pocono Record, June 11, 2017. https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/2017/06/11/district-teachers-still-at-odds/20665332007/.
8. Scott, Andrew. “Stroudsburg Budget Shows $3.6M Deficit.” Pocono Record, December 10, 2017. https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/local/2017/12/10/stroudsburg-budget-shows-3-6m/16862916007/.
9. Scott, Andrew. “Union Sways, Then Agrees.” Pocono Record, August 17, 2018. https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/education/2018/08/17/union-sways-then-agrees/11023333007/.
10. Pryts, Monica. “Group Marches on Mercer in Opposition to School Vouchers.” The Herald, May 21, 2022. https://www.sharonherald.com/news/group-marches-on-mercer-in-opposition-to-school-vouchers/article_0d19908a-d93d-11ec-9889-af458ff5f62e.html.
11. Smith, Christen. “Pa. Public School Workers Say ‘dignified’ Retirement out of Reach.” The Bradford Era, March 22, 2023. https://www.bradfordera.com/news/pa-public-school-workers-say-dignified-retirement-out-of-reach/article_f4ba687f-ea51-5054-8bf0-568a077df375.html
12. Chapin, Aaron. “PSERS Has Delivered for School Retirees, PA’s Economy.” RealClearPennsylvania, November 30, 2022. https://www.realclearpennsylvania.com/2022/11/30/psers_has_delivered_for_school_retirees_pas_economy_867552.html.
13. Chapin, Aaron. “Testimony of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) – Public Hearing Regarding Education Reform.” Pennsylvania State Education Association, April 19, 2021. https://www.psea.org/globalassets/issues–action/action-center/testimony/senate-ed–psea–aaron-chapin-4.19.21.pdf.
14. Chapin, Aaron. “Testimony of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) Public Hearing Regarding Instructing preK-12 Students During COVID-19.” Pennsylvania State Education Association, August 25, 2020. https://www.psea.org/globalassets/issues–action/action-center/testimony/instructing-students-covid.-house-d-policy-hearing-8.25.20.pdf.
15. Hanna, Maddie. “Pa. Lawmakers Are Proposing a $10,000 Stipend to Pay Student Teachers.” Inquirer.com, May 25, 2023. https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania-student-teacher-shortage-stipend-legislation-20230525.html.
16. “New Report Warns of Teacher Shortage.” CAPS, August 20, 2021. https://capsedu.org/new-report-warns-teacher-shortage/.
17. Chapin, Aaron. “Testimony of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) – Public Hearing Regarding Education Reform.” Pennsylvania State Education Association, April 19, 2021. https://www.psea.org/globalassets/issues–action/action-center/testimony/senate-ed–psea–aaron-chapin-4.19.21.pdf.
18. Chapin, Aaron. “Testimony of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) – Public Hearing Regarding Education Reform.” Pennsylvania State Education Association, April 19, 2021. https://www.psea.org/globalassets/issues–action/action-center/testimony/senate-ed–psea–aaron-chapin-4.19.21.pdf.
19. “PSEA Vice President Joins Call to Raise PA’s Minimum Wage.” Pennsylvania State Education Association, September 17, 2019. https://www.psea.org/news–events/newsstand/press-center/news-release—september-17-2019/.
20. Grubbs, Paula. “Educators Implore Voters to Consider Schools in November.” Cranberry Eagle, September 13, 2022. https://www.cranberryeagle.com/2022/09/13/educators-implore-voters-to-consider-schools-in-november/.
21. Paterson, James. “Joe Biden Energizes Educators, Kicks Off Re-Election Bid.” National Education Association, June 18, 2023. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/joe-biden-energizes-educators-kicks-re-election-bid.
22. Chapin, Aaron. “Testimony of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) Public Hearing Regarding Reopening Schools Fall 2020.” Pennsylvania State Education Association, June 30, 2020. https://www.psea.org/globalassets/issues–action/action-center/testimony/reopening-schools-house-d-policy-hearing-6.30.20.pdf.
23. “Pennsylvania ESSER Fund 2021 Provisional Annual Report.” Education Stabilization Fund, June 30, 2021. https://covid-relief-data.ed.gov/report/esser/PA/2021/annual.
24. Chapin, Aaron. “Testimony of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) Public Hearing Regarding Instructing preK-12 Students During COVID-19.” Pennsylvania State Education Association, August 25, 2020. https://www.psea.org/globalassets/issues–action/action-center/testimony/instructing-students-covid.-house-d-policy-hearing-8.25.20.pdf.