ND Teachers Should Stop Paying Dues to Leftist Organizations

NDU President Nick Archuleta is sometimes seen as a puppet master of DPI Superintendent Kirsten Baesler. (File Photo)

There’s a number of teachers across North Dakota who are unwittingly funding leftist organizations. Yes, I’m speaking of the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and North Dakota United (NDU). My plea to these teachers is simple— stop it.

As you can see here, NDU was created in September of 2013 by the merger of the North Dakota Education Association and the North Dakota Public Employees Association. In short, NDU is a “statewide, professional union of more than 11,500 educators and public employees.” (Note: There’s just under 9,000 teachers in the state.)

As explained by their own website, when teachers join NDU, they simultaneously unite “in vision and focus” with over 4.7 million members of “two national affiliates, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.” And all for the low-low price of $623 per year.

By now, some of you may be asking why I refer to these as “leftist organizations”. While I won’t take the time to lay out their history, perhaps some recent articles from their websites will illustrate the point:

“6 Reasons Why Educators are Excited About Kamala Harris” — I don’t think this one really needs an explanation. Needless to say, the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate is one of the most leftist members of the U.S. Senate.

“Landmark Ruling Protects LGBTQ Workers, But the Work is Far From Over” — If you read the information provided, it’s not difficult to see that the NEA’s idea of anti-discrimination includes forced acceptance of LGBTQ lifestyles. Anything short of that and — well — you’re a bigot.

“AFT President Weingarten on the Shooting of Jacob Blake” — Like so many others did following the shooting, AFT’s president jumped to conclusions without waiting for facts. But hey, leftists don’t care about facts. They have an agenda to push.

“AFT Convention Delegates Endorse Joe Biden for President” — Surprise! Okay, not really.

“AFT President Randi Weingarten Praises Sen. Warren’s Public Education Plan” — What’s fascinating here isn’t just that the organization supported Warren’s “game changer” of a plan, but they also “praised the education plans of many of the 2020 presidential candidates, including plans by Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Kamala Harris and Secretary Julián Castro.” Those names speak volumes. And let’s be honest— it’s a money game. Because throwing more dollars at education will fix things, right?

“We Can Eliminate Institutional Racism, Together” — If you believe what NDU President Nick Archuleta wrote here, racism is everywhere. Indeed, to Archuleta, it’s so prevalent it’s a “ticking time bomb”.

It’s also worth noting that in 2010 Nick Archuleta was a Democratic candidate for North Dakota Senate in District 35. He opposes school choice and supported the awful Red Flag Law that failed during the state’s 2019 Legislative Session.

My great-grandmother used to say, “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.” There’s some truth to that. And unless you have your head in the sand, there’s no question where these teacher unions stand and who their political puppets are.

Our very own Superintendent of Public Instruction — Kirsten Baesler — brands herself as a Republican and gives lip-service to conservative ideals. Yet, you’ll see her on a regular basis with Nick Archuleta and his crew. She fought against eliminating Common Core. She stood with him to support Red Flag Laws.

We could go on. But I think you get the point. These organizations don’t represent the values of North Dakotans in general. And that includes many of our educators who are members of them.

There’s little doubt that many of our teachers pay their yearly dues in order to have the benefits of membership— in particular the liability insurance that goes with it. But there’s alternatives out there. And these teachers should look into them.

North Dakota educators shouldn’t be funneling their hard-earned dollars to leftist organizations like the NEA, AFT, and NDU. It’s past time to end their association with them.

PLEASE LIKE & SHARE

  1. https://www.nea.org/
  2. https://www.ndunited.org/
  3. https://www.aft.org/
  4. https://insights.nd.gov/Education/State/Summary
  5. https://www.ndunited.org/about/history/
  6. https://www.ndunited.org/who-we-are/
  7. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/6-reasons-why-educators-are-excited-about-kamala-harris
  8. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/landmark-ruling-protects-lgbtq-workers-work-far-over
  9. https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-president-weingarten-shooting-jacob-blake
  10. https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-convention-delegates-endorse-joe-biden-president
  11. https://www.ndunited.org/articles/we-can-eliminate-institutional-racism-together/
  12. https://www.ndunited.org/about/executive-committee-board-directors/nick-archuleta/
  13. https://ballotpedia.org/Nick_Archuleta
  14. https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/School-choice-in-North-Dakota-486500161.html
  15. https://theminutemanblog.com/2019/01/15/nd-republican-traitors-stand-with-democrats-on-red-flag-gun-law/
Facebook Comments

Donate to The Minuteman Blog

Your donations are greatly appreciated. Thank You.


Please Add coin wallet address in plugin settings panel

About T. Arthur Mason 874 Articles
T. Arthur Mason is a native North Dakotan who has spent nearly all of his life in the Peace Garden State. As the third of four children in Western North Dakota, Mason grew to appreciate family and the outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are annual deer hunts with family and friends. In his early teenage years, faith became a central part of T. Arthur Mason's life. He and the majority of his family attend church together on a weekly basis and find this a fulfilling aspect of their lives. Through the influence of his father, T. Arthur Mason became intrigued with politics. As a boy, he attended political events with his father and enjoyed the friendships that resulted as a byproduct of those political associations. As Mason grew older, he became convinced that the quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson was true, "That government is best which governs least." Today, T. Arthur Mason enjoys time with his wife and children, an occasional hunt, and an increasingly active life on the political scene. This blog is the fulfillment of a dream to design a web site in the realm of politics and to advocate for the principles of Liberty and constitutionally limited government. On behalf of all those that contribute to The Minuteman, we hope you enjoy your time on the site and will share the message with others.