IEA Governance Organizer and outgoing NEA Director Peggy Hoy, standing, asks NEA Executive Committee candidate Bill Farmer a question during the TNT gathering. IEA President Layne McInelly is facing Hoy, second from the right.
The big picture: The National Education Association Representative Assembly includes thousands of members — but often, states with larger populations enjoy an outsized say in union business. To maximize its collective voice and impact, the Idaho Education Association’s delegates often join a voting bloc called The Northern Tier (TNT).
The members: The Northern Tier includes the state affiliates from Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.
Why it matters: “NEA is a huge organization, and the challenges states in the TNT region face are wildly different than places like California or New York or Florida,” said IEA Executive Director Paul Stark. “TNT states often face hostile legislatures, have higher concentrations of rural students and must work harder to achieve our goals. Banding together is our opportunity to bring those issues to the table at RA.”
What TNT did at RA: There were two meetings during the recent NEA Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore.: One for leadership from TNT states and another for member delegates.
• During the member meeting on July 3, which included delegates from TNT states, candidates for the NEA Executive Committee made their pitches to win the voting bloc.
• Four of the eight candidates running for national-level governance roles spoke before TNT: Elizabeth Nahl of the Oregon Education Association, Bill Farmer of the Illinois Education Association, Mel House of the California Teachers Association and Dr. Tia Mills of the Louisiana Association of Educators.
• Why the candidates were making the rounds: TNT had committed to endorsing up to two candidates for the NEA Executive Committee. Recent University of Idaho graduate and IEA member Emily Pearson and IEA Governance Organizer and outgoing NEA Director Peggy Hoy were tapped to ask questions on behalf of TNT membership at large. Pearson focused on aspiring educators and Hoy asked what the candidates would do to support states with smaller populations.
Who did TNT endorse?: TNT leadership endorsed Bill Farmer at their meeting late last year but left the second choice up to members.
• After listening to candidate speeches and multiple rounds of voting among members, TNT membership chose to forgo their second endorsement and leave the choice up to each state association.
• In the end, TNT’s endorsement of Farmer paid off: Farmer and Dr. Mills won seats in the election.
Other business: Hoy announced the formation of the Rural Locals Caucus, which will help raise awareness and advocate for local unions far from urban centers.
Who’s there?: There was some lag time between candidate speeches, so TNT members kept the mood light with groan-inducing knock-knock jokes, including these gems from Boise Education Association’s Tabitha Miller: “What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef. What do you call a cow with two legs? Lean beef. What do you call a cow with three legs? Tri-tip.”
