How to use this toolkit

Learn how to communicate about union membership and the meaningful changes won by educators in your area and across the country.
Access key resources that highlight the power of the union, including information on pension, student debt, healthcare, and more.
Find videos, graphics, and downloadable posters to help you spread the word about your membership drive.

Viewing: Toolkit Section Title

Talking About Your Union

Thank you for taking the time to help build a stronger union. As you engage with potential members you might encounter some tough questions. This section will help you start recruitment conversations and navigate those questions while highlighting all that educators are achieving at the local, state, and national levels.

Anyone can now join the union straight from their phone! Have them text JOIN to 48744 to get started.

Transformational Organizing Conversations

Together a stronger voice for educators

Joining adds your voice to thousands of educators just like us across the state and millions of educators across the country to accomplish things one educator, one bus driver, one janitor, or even one district can’t.

As a union, we regularly meet with school administrators, school boards, and lawmakers from both major political parties to advocate for higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions for educators.

Together for our students

When educators are heard, respected, and given the resources we need, we can give students our very best.

Great educators create great public schools. Your union is here to help you get the training, tools, and community support you need to engage students, advance education justice, and excel in your profession.

Together we deliver real change

When we speak up as part of our local union, we can advocate for significant changes like increased salaries or cost-of-living adjustments. Additionally, we have already secured improved health care benefits, comprehensive student loan forgiveness and repayment programs, and discounts on school-related items—things that improve our daily lives as educators.

We’re making progress, but, with more members like you, we can have an even stronger voice.

We’ve created tools and explainers about unions, health care, and pensions that you can send to potential members to help them understand the power of membership.

Find Your Place in the Union

Whether it's your nature speak up loudly or work behind the scenes quietly, our union is made up of many different types of activists. Take our short quiz to find out what kind of changemaker you are.

Take Our Quiz

Conversation Starters

Looking for a way to start the conversation around membership? We have tools to help!

Use these prompts to start a conversation with someone following an initial contact. You can also change them a bit and use them to reach out to someone you haven't heard from in a while.

Year-Round Organizing Cards

The Year-Round Organizing card is an important tool for gathering the contact information of educators who are interested in learning about or getting more involved in the union. When educators fill out the card, they will receive opportunities that:

Support educators to grow in their professional practice.
Help elect pro-public education candidates from both parties.
Get the word out about ways to work together to improve working conditions.
Work to increase education funding at your school, district and state.

Every state has their own Year-Round Organizing card. Text CONNECT to 48744 to be connect directly with your state.

Spread the Word!

Sharing the Year-Round Organizing card with fellow educators is a great way to introduce them to the union if they are not yet ready to join or to connect existing members with ways to get more involved.

Share these Messages

On Social Media

By banding together, NEA members impact meaningful change for educators and students.

Sign up to receive more information, opportunities involved, and monthly resources for your career and classroom: join.nea.org/connect/

On Email

Dear [Insert Name],

When educators are heard, respected, and given the resources we need, we can give students our very best. As part of the largest labor union in the country, with almost three million members, we work together to ensure that educators like you have a stronger voice.

We regularly advocate for higher salaries and improved working conditions.
We meet with lawmakers from both political parties to make sure our voices are being heard and respected.
We work hand in hand with school administrators and school boards to improve our daily lives as educators.
We make sure that educators have the resources we need to give students our best.

By filling out this form, you'll gain access to monthly resources for your classroom and opportunities to get involved with educators at the local, state, and national level.

We cannot thank you enough for all you do, and all you will do, to change the lives of your students. Please let me know if you have any questions about our union or how you can get involved.

In solidarity,

[Insert Your Name]

On Text Message

Educators are the best advocates for our schools, our students & ourselves. Sign up to learn more about NEA & our community: join.nea.org/connect/

Show Your Union Pride

Share these videos and graphics with your friends and colleagues to spread the word about the ways membership makes public education stronger.

Share on Social Media

NEA educators deliver real change. We meet with school administrators and lawmakers from both political parties to make sure our voices are being heard and respected. Text JOIN to 48744 to become a member today!

Together, our union has successfully raised educator wages, improved working conditions, supported student loan forgiveness, and made sure the voices of educators are actually heard. Text JOIN to 48744 to become a member today!

Together we’re stronger. Together we’re heard. With more members like you, educators will have an even stronger voice to improve our daily lives the lives of our students. Text JOIN to 48744 to join us today!