Pringle, a science teacher from Philadelphia, has managed the 2.8-million member labor organization since she was first elected president in 2020. She had previously served as vice president and secretary-treasurer. NEA leadership is limited to two three-year terms.聽

Among the four candidates competing for her spot are Princess Moss, current NEA vice president; Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association; Sean Spiller, former president of the New Jersey Education Association and past candidate for governor; and Tania Kappner, an Oakland Unified School District teacher. 

Below are background information for each candidate and their campaign goals. The NEA declined to comment about the upcoming election, and the candidates did not reply to interview requests from 社区黑料.

Princess Moss

Moss has been NEA鈥檚 vice president since she was elected with Pringle in 2020. She previously served as the union鈥檚 secretary-treasurer for six years, after a 21-year teaching . 

She entered the education field teaching music in Louisa County, Virginia, and served in leadership roles for the state teachers union. She was of the 62,000-member Virginia Education Association from 2005 to 2008.

鈥淢y vision centers on transforming our union from one that primarily mobilizes to one that continuously organizes 鈥� shifting power from centralized leadership to worksite teams, from reactive campaigns to a proactive infrastructure, from professional advocacy to professional authority,鈥� Moss said in a on her website. 鈥淚t is time for us to create a NEA where every member is an everyday organizer.鈥�

Among her accomplishments as NEA vice president, Moss joining educators on picket lines, improving membership engagement and increasing the number of bargaining units in Virginia.

The NEA says Moss 鈥渇ocuses special attention on increasing the ranks of new educators鈥� and is 鈥渁n outspoken, sought-after advocate on the topics of racial and social justice in education.鈥� It credits her for the passage of Virginia鈥檚 first for public employees in 2019.

鈥淧rincess believes in using every available tool 鈥� organizing, legal and legislative measures, the ballot box and collective action 鈥� to protect the rights of students and educators and protect public education,鈥� the union said in the statement.

Kate Dias

As president of the Connecticut Education Association since 2021, Dias helped overhaul the state鈥檚 , increase school funding and repeal federal rules eliminating for educators. The statewide teachers union has roughly 43,000 members.

This year, Senate Republicans over a social media about immigration enforcement in schools. But she has also received endorsements from politicians like Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who called Dias a 鈥渢houghtful, solution-driven leader and a trusted partner in our shared work to strengthen public education,鈥� according to her campaign .

Dias said on her website that as NEA president, she would advocate for a $60,000 starting salary for education support professionals; partner with historically Black colleges and universities to diversify the teacher pipeline; and mobilize NEA members to secure more district funding and block school privatization.

Dias taught high school math for 21 years, according to the Connecticut Education Association. Her most recent position was in a suburb of Hartford at Manchester HIgh School, where she taught geometry and college-level statistics. She was also president of the Manchester Education Association.

鈥淚 was in a classroom when COVID hit. Six years ago, I was like many of you, facing, 鈥楬ow am I going to teach math online? How do we come back from this?鈥� 鈥� she said in a recent . 鈥淎s you make a decision about who is going to be the next president of NEA, think about where we all were during COVID, and what we did and what we experienced. When was the last time each of us was in a classroom? I was in the classroom five years ago. My opponents haven鈥檛 been in the classroom for 10, 15, even 20 years. That matters.鈥�

Sean Spiller

Spiller was a science teacher in Kinnelon, New Jersey, before being elected president of the Wayne Education Association in 2007. He eventually moved to Montclair, New Jersey, where he became a councilman and then mayor. He held leadership positions for several years in the New Jersey Education Association, which represents 200,000 members, before he was in 2021.

Controversy has followed Spiller鈥檚 journey to his NEA presidential campaign. He was after the union funneled more than $40 million into his race for governor. The state teachers union the $40 million roughly one month before Spiller officially announced his candidacy.

鈥淲hen it鈥檚 one of our own, when it鈥檚 an educator, when it鈥檚 us, all of a sudden it鈥檚 a big story,鈥� Spiller told last summer when questioned about the donation.

At least two New Jersey teachers have since , alleging that member dues were used to support his campaign for governor even though the union said political action committee support was voluntary. During Spiller鈥檚 time as Montclair mayor, from 2020 to 2024, he also came under fire for he wasn鈥檛 entitled to. 

Spiller said on his that he believes the national teachers union needs to realign its budget to better support state affiliates. 

鈥淏y doing so, we strengthen our ability to mobilize our members and connect their work to the broader priorities and power of our union,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭he moment we are in demands focus, unity and determination. Guiding our members and our profession through today鈥檚 challenges will require a comprehensive effort.鈥�

Tania Kappner

Kappner is listed as an eighth grade English and history teacher on the website of , a virtual academy within the Oakland Unified School District in California. She previously at Oakland Technical High School. In 2019, the , the University of California, Berkeley student newspaper, reported that Kappner was a member of the Oakland Education Association executive board. 

She鈥檚 been affiliated with  , a labor caucus that promoted her campaign for a spot on the NEA executive committee last year. An said Kappner is committed to a 鈥渕ass anti鈥恌ascist, pro鈥恈ivil rights, pro鈥恥nion movement that defies Trump鈥檚 fascist attacks and demands his immediate ouster.鈥� 

Kappner ran against Moss for NEA vice president in 2023. In a from the union鈥檚 annual representative assembly meeting that year, Kappner said she fights hard for the rights of members and students.

鈥淚 take on the Trump movement by fighting against racism, and for immigrant, LGBTQ and women鈥檚 rights,鈥� she said in the program. 鈥淚 mobilize intransigently to defend public education against privatization and union-busting. I鈥檓 running for NEA vice president because NEA must be a leader, not follow the politicians in the fight for public education.鈥�

She also participated in the Oakland Education Association strike in 2023. In a with KBOO Portland, Kappner said she鈥檚 always been a longtime union activist and has spent 30 years in Oakland Unified.

NEA made that opposition the focal point of the gathering, joining a protest organized by Florida for All on July 1 and then outside the convention center July 5. Its themes were 鈥淔reedom to Learn鈥� and 鈥淭each Truth.鈥�

鈥淎s this nation鈥檚 largest, most powerful union 鈥� we will protect our democracy [and] preserve public education,鈥� said Pringle.

But the union鈥檚 commitment to these principles did not extend to its own operations during the convention. It stage-managed every aspect of the proceedings and saw to it that no shadows were cast across its self-image as the progressive defender of democracy.

NEA bills its representative assembly as 鈥渢he world’s largest democratic, deliberative body.鈥� But just how democratic and deliberative is it?

The delegates spent most of their time at the four-day convention introducing, debating and voting on 鈥渘ew business items.鈥� These are proposals for the national union to take a specific and finite action. They are paid for through NEA鈥檚 contingency fund, which totals $3 million.

The NEA annual budget approaches $375 million, which means the delegates are devoting almost all of their attention to less than 1% of the union鈥檚 operations.

The delegates do vote on the total budget at the end of the convention, but they cannot add, amend or delete anything from it 鈥� only approve it or reject it as is.

Which new business items were approved and which were rejected? Neither the public nor the non-attending members of NEA have any idea. The union put the proposals and actions behind a firewall, and very few individual delegates saw fit to pass along the information.

Education Week 鈥� the only media outlet to cover the convention 鈥� reported that the delegates , at a cost of more than $580,000. New Business Item 69, which had , passed by 20 votes out of more than 4,500 cast.

New Business Item 53 proposed that NEA instruct local affiliates on how to become 鈥渟trike-ready.鈥� The delegates voted to refer it to committee, which upset the sponsor of the item, Deb Gesualdo, a delegate from Massachusetts, because she felt it left the decision to act or not in the hands of a few higher-ups, instead of the large representative body.

, she claimed the 鈥淣EA board steering committee began to organize against it鈥� and that her item 鈥渦pset a handful of state presidents who are interested in hoarding information and hoarding power.鈥�

Another delegate also sounded a bit disillusioned. 鈥淚 sat with some teachers from different states at one point. What did we talk about? Our working conditions, our pay, our workload, student behavior … things that were not talked about during the [representative assembly]. Our [new business items] had little to do with teaching,鈥� .

While the public, the press and most NEA members were in the dark about the proceedings, at least the delegates in attendance could witness them. But even delegates present at the assembly were mostly unaware of what actions NEA officials took just outside the hall.

NEA staffers represented by the Association of Field Service Employees have been working without a contract since June 1. In an attempt to move negotiations along, a group of them showed up at the convention center to hand out leaflets and hold signs.

This didn鈥檛 sit well with NEA executives, who, , sent convention center security and a sheriff鈥檚 deputy to have them removed from the premises.

The staff union also claims it was prevented from joining the Freedom to Learn rally, and that NEA urged delegates not to interact with the staff union.

鈥淥n a day when NEA professed the 鈥榝reedom to learn,鈥� AFSE members and NEA members were denied their freedom of speech,鈥� .

Its demands include the usual pay increases and benefit improvements, but the association also of increasing members’ workload while shrinking staff and relying on temporary employees, which it calls 鈥渁n anti-union, exploitative practice.鈥�

The association received strong support from its sister unions of NEA employees, the and the , which has its own gripes with NEA management.

The staff union placed that accuses some NEA leaders of prejudice and racism. 鈥淎t NEA Headquarters there is a persisting culture of mistreatment and disrespect of our Black staff that has continued to go unchallenged,鈥� the post reads.

There are legitimate concerns about whitewashing history, covering up errors and misdeeds, and promoting only a positive, glowing image. NEA鈥檚 own actions during its representative assembly demonstrate the union is not immune from such urges.

Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.

, NEA President Becky Pringle urged President Joe Biden to nominate Julie Su, currently deputy secretary, to replace Marty Walsh, who is leaving to become executive director of the National Hockey League鈥檚 players union.

It is common for interest groups to support their favorites for cabinet offices and other high-ranking federal positions. But I can find no previous occurrence of NEA publicly endorsing a candidate prior to his or her nomination 鈥� not even when one of its own, former NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garc铆a, in December 2020.

NEA鈥檚 change in tactics may have its roots in that time period, when newly elected President Biden was forming his first cabinet. Su was on the short list for labor secretary, but Democrats were divided over several candidates. Walsh was selected because of his union background, his close relationship with Biden and endorsements from the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers.

Though it is the nation鈥檚 largest union, NEA did not back a candidate.

When Su was passed over, it disappointed her supporters, most notably Asian-American advocacy groups. Biden鈥檚 cabinet does not contain anyone of Asian-American descent. Being the deputy secretary, Su is an obvious choice this time, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is among those .

There are other contenders for the job, . Rep. Nancy Pelosi reportedly wants former New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. Sen. Bernie Sanders likes Sara Nelson, president of the flight attendants union, or former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.

NEA鈥檚 decision to publicly support Su this time may have to do with cabinet diversity, or the desire to show itself as a driving force in organized labor. But what appeals to the teachers union about Su herself isn鈥檛 entirely clear.

In her letter to Biden, Pringle lists among Su鈥檚 accomplishments as deputy secretary being a 鈥渟killed messenger,鈥� overseeing the workforce 鈥渢actfully and with kindness鈥� and traveling across the country 鈥減romoting the work of the Department and Administration.鈥�

And while NEA considers teaching experience a prerequisite for being education secretary, it doesn鈥檛 hold the same standard for labor secretary. Su is a former civil rights attorney with no union experience.

Almost two-thirds of Pringle鈥檚 letter is , letter from Marc Egan, NEA鈥檚 director of government relations, to the Senate, urging a yes vote for Su鈥檚 confirmation as deputy secretary.

Not that it will matter, but California Republicans are squarely against Su, due to her tenure as the state鈥檚 labor secretary. During her watch, California paid out in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.

NEA may get its wish and see Su installed as labor secretary, but it will take more than any efforts on her part to reverse decades of union decline. Membership losses have continued unabated through both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations. Biden鈥檚 will be no exception.

Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.