NEA President Princess Moss Calls for a Nonpartisan Union Strategy

Princess Moss, the newly elected president of the National Education Association (NEA)—the nation’s largest labor union representing roughly 3 million teachers and public-school workers—has pledged to steer the organization away from formal party alignment. She argues that the union should become “its own political authority,” focusing on students’ needs rather than Democratic or Republican labels. Moss’s three-year term begins amid a contentious policy environment, including a federal education tax credit slated to direct money to private schools in January and a federal administration that is restructuring the Department of Education.

NPR

The current climate features a proposed education tax credit that could shift federal resources toward private institutions, while the Trump administration is pursuing extensive changes to the Department of Education. These developments have intensified concerns among public-school advocates that the foundational role of public education in democracy is under pressure. Moss’s background—growing up in rural Virginia, teaching elementary music for more than two decades, and leading the Virginia Education Association from 2004 to 2008—shapes her approach to coalition-building across partisan lines.

NPR

Moss emphasizes “talk about your students” as the union’s rallying cry, urging members to prioritize student needs over partisan battles. She cites past successes in Virginia, where she forged alliances despite a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature, and she intends to apply the same strategy as midterm elections approach. The NEA’s recent endorsements of Democratic candidates in 2020 and 2024 are acknowledged, but Moss stresses that future advocacy will be issue-focused rather than party-driven.

NPR

• “I want us to become our own political authority,” — Enter Princess Moss

NPR