National Education Association locks out employees after strike

The country’s largest union has locked its own workers out of their jobs after a three-day strike, escalating an ugly wage dispute that already has the White House embroiled.

Employees of the National Education Association said they were told not to show up for work at the union’s headquarters in Washington on Monday. Last week, employees went on strike during the NEA’s annual meeting in Philadelphia, prompting President Joe Biden to withdraw from a planned speech.

The union claimed the lockout was retaliation for the Philadelphia strike and called it a “dangerous” and “reactionary” move by the NEA. A lockout is an employer-initiated stoppage of work and is essentially the opposite of a strike.

“I can’t imagine the largest union in the country locking out its employees’ union is going to go over well,” said Robin McLean, the employees’ union president, in a statement accusing the NEA of “union busting.” “What does it mean for a so-called union to treat hard-working people like this?”

The two sides are trying to negotiate a new threesome-year contract Wages, health insurance and other benefits are at stake. And while it’s not uncommon for a union to have tense negotiations with its own workforce, it’s rare for a labor dispute to result in a lockout.

An NEA spokesperson said in an email that the union had negotiated with employees in good faith and accused the strikers of “abandoning” their members by disrupting the Philadelphia meeting. The NEA argues that the employees’ strike is not protected by the law, a point the union disputes.

“In order to best protect the interests of our members, the association and our employees, we have made the difficult decision to introduce a protective lockout,” said the spokesman.

The plans for the lockout were first reported by Education Week.

The NEA represents three million teachers, paraprofessionals and other employees in public schools and colleges across the country. It is a key ally of the Democratic Party and supported Biden’s re-election campaign in April, calling his administration “the most pro-education and pro-union administration in modern history.”

The standoff became public knowledge late last week when the White House announced that Biden would not speak in Philadelphia. Biden, who describes himself as the most union-friendly president in history, refused to break a picket line called by the union.

The union claims the NEA is trying to “coerce” employees into accepting a substandard contract. It recently filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that managers unilaterally changed working conditions and retaliated against an employee.