Union moves will leave LV teachers with choice

New local takes shape after CCEA severs ties

Come July, Clark County teachers will face an important choice — deciding where to send their dues and support.

One option: They can keep their current membership with the Clark County Education Association, which voted on Wednesday to cut ties with the state and national unions.

“This is freedom,” CCEA head John Vellardita told the Las Vegas Review-journal on Thursday. “We’re not the ATM for these guys anymore.”

Or they can join a new local union, the National Education Association-southern Nevada, which will remain affiliated with the Nevada State Education Association and the National Education Association. The new union was announced Wednesday after the disaffiliation vote.

“The new members of NEA-SN will have their voices heard in a collective manner with the NEA and NSEA in advocating for what’s best in public education here in Nevada and nationally,” Ruben Murillo, president of the Nevada State Education Association, said at a news conference Thursday.

A two-week period in July serves as the official renewal or drop period for the unions.

Nationwide trend

The recent moves aren’t unexpected. Conflict has been escalating between the local and state union leadership since the 2017 legislative session. Cutting all ties with the state and national unions is pretty rare, although it’s gaining traction, said Mike Antonucci, director of the Education Intelligence Agency.

Teachers in Memphis, Tennessee, and Santa Rosa, Florida, broke their state and national union ties in 2015. Last year, Carmel, Indiana, teachers did the same, said Antonucci, who describes himself as a one-man contract research firm studying the inner workings of unions.

But Clark County’s disproportionate size makes Nevada a more interesting case, Antonucci said.

“CCEA is also unique among NEA locals in that it is a very large local in a small state affiliate. NSEA needs CCEA more than the reverse,” he said.

That’s a key point Vellardita stressed Thursday. The NSEA’S main funding source is gone after the vote, he said.

The vote was 697 to 99 in favor of leaving, an overwhelming majority but a small fraction of the union’s 10,800 members.

The CCEA is the recognized bargaining agent with the Clark County School District, and negotiation decisions made between the union and the district affect all teachers.

But if CCEA membership drops below 50 percent of the teachers in the district, the new union can petition for recognition.

Vellardita said the move to start a new local is part of the playbook for the National Education Association.