Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1540396
ORGANIZING CORNER 12 ADVOCATE | FALL 2025 THIS SUMMER, more than 100 AEA delegates traveled to Portland, Oregon, for the NEA Representative Assembly (RA) — the largest democratic gathering of educators in the world. Together, delegates set national priorities for public education, focusing on three core themes: fostering resilience for educators and students, building collective power, and nurturing respect and equity in every school community. Recognizing the urgent challenges facing public education, delegates voted to dedicate the final day of RA to deepening their organizing skills. e day-long training covered strategies to: organize and lobby effectively, resist school privatization, protect immigrant and LGBTQ+ students, and defend democracy against escalating attacks. "is is an intentional, coordinated campaign to strip away the very tools that challenge power, demand justice, and preserve democracy," NEA President Becky Pringle told delegates. "As they work to destroy public education, and then profit from the wreckage, this administration wants to lock in policies that will take generations to undo… Delegates, I need you to understand that we are in a prolonged fight—one that cannot end on the last day of this RA." Skills to Win: Hands-On Training to Harness Our Power Have you taken a Skills to Win course yet? Building Our Power at RA SINCE 2022, AEA has been hosting hands-on trainings to help local unions harness their collective power and organize their communities for the common good. ese trainings help union members learn how to build a high-powered, high-participation union to organize around what matters. ese trainings go beyond theory. Participants role-play real-world scenarios, share their organizing successes and challenges, and create concrete action plans to take back to their locals. Whether you're new to organizing or a seasoned organizer, Skills to Win offers tools and strategies to build power and create lasting change. Interested in participating? Reach out to your organizational consultant to learn about upcoming dates for the next online training session. Jane McAlevey "No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age." Ordinary people who learn to believe in themselves are capable of extraordinary acts, Interested in attending next year's RA? Speak to your local president about the process to become an elected delegate.