Biden cancels Philadelphia NEA appearance after union announces strike

President Joe Biden's campaign announced on Friday that the president canceled his upcoming appearance at the National Education Association (NEA) convention in Philadelphia this weekend, after a portion of the union announced a strike.

The National Education Association Staff Organization (NEASO) said it filed two unfair labor complaints against the NEA on Friday because the parent company failed to comply with union standards, including by eliminating holiday overtime pay.

Biden claimed in 2021 that he aspires to be the most "pro-union presidents leading the most pro-union administration in American history," and has met union workers on the picket line during his presidency, including during the United Auto Workers strike last year.

“President Biden is a fierce supporter of unions, and he won’t cross a picket line,” the Biden campaign said in a statement reported by the Washington Examiner. “The President is still planning to travel to Pennsylvania this weekend, and we will have more details to share at a later point.”

The NEASO said the NEA committed "wage theft" when it eliminated holiday overtime pay, and also failed to respond to the union's requests for information on why it outsourced more than $50 million to contractors, which allegedly violates the National Labor Relations Act.

"We do not take this decision lightly. It breaks our hearts to have to take this action during the Representative Assembly," the union said in a statement. "However, NEA management has forced our hand with repeated Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) violations and showing they would rather cancel a multi-million-dollar convention than comply with labor law."

Union President Robin McLean said the association threatened to cancel its annual event so that no one could protest at the convention.

"For a union to trick its members into crossing a picket line is reprehensible. It also confirms what we have been saying: NEA has abandoned its union values with its actions at the bargaining table,” McLean said, according to The Hill. 

The NEA said it was "deeply concerning" that misinformation regarding the association's contract negotiations was being spread, but that it remains "fully committed  to a fair bargaining process."

The strike is expected to last throughout the weekend at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.