Dive Brief:

• The National Education Association, the nation's largest teacher's union, has lost over 230,000 members in the past three years.  
• This dip is forcing the NEA to rethink how its engaging and organizing its current and potential members, resulting in a push to empower local chapters.  
• One such measure has included the creation of a Center for Organizing, which provides training and advice on organizing and funnels millions of dollars into local chapters of the union.  

Dive Insight:

The NEA's loss of membership could be attributed to many things, but one might be the rise of charter schools. Membership has fallen largely in the last three years, which is around the time initiatives such as Race to the Top were announced. Race to the Top and other national programs have arguably pushed for charter school expansion, and the majority of charter school employees are not organized.