NCAE has fewer members today than they did in 1994

Mike Antonucci of the Education Intelligence Agency reports that 20 NEA affiliates, including the NC Association of Educators (NCAE), have fewer members today than they did in 1994.  Antonucci writes,

In 1994 the National Education Association had 2.2 million members. In the years since, the union has increased its numbers by 800,000. During a period of time when the number of full-time equivalent classroom teachers grew by 553,000 it appears to be quite an achievement.

But a closer look at the state numbers show that NEA’s strength for the last 20 years has been concentrated in a handful of affiliates, and that mergers with American Federation of Teachers affiliates account for more than half of the union’s growth.

Other NEA affiliates in the Southeast – Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia – also fall short of 1994 membership totals.