NEA Leadership: Moss Pushes for Union Independence

Princess Moss has taken the helm of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States, with a mandate to reshape the group’s political strategy. The organization represents three million teachers and public workers across every state. Moss intends to move the union away from its traditional alignment with one political party.

The union faces a compressed timeline of financial and political challenges. Inflation continues to strain school budgets nationwide. A new federal education tax credit will direct tax dollars to private schools starting in January. Meanwhile, the current administration is dismantling the Department of Education. Moss describes the current environment as a direct threat to the institution.

“Public education is under attack,” Moss said. “Our students are under attack. The very foundation of this democracy is public education, that is under attack.”

Moss calls her plan “resistance to renaissance.” The strategy emphasizes professional autonomy and community organizing. The key shift is the union’s desire to become its own political authority rather than aligning with a specific party. “I want us to become our own political authority,” Moss said. “Meaning that we’re not aligning ourselves with a political party.”

Moss brings two decades of experience as an elementary school music teacher and a background in state union leadership. She served as president of the Virginia Education Association from 2004 to 2008. In Virginia, she worked with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled general assembly. She used that period to build coalitions across the aisle. She said she is applying that approach to the national level with the midterms approaching.

“We’re telling our members: ‘Talk about your students. What do your students need?’” Moss said. “Don’t make it a Democrat or Republican issue.”

Michael Petrilli, president of the Fordham Institute, views the shift as a major departure. The NEA endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Petrilli noted that many state-level races lean toward Democrats, who are the union’s longtime allies. He said this positions the union well to drive education policy. He asked what the union will do with that power and what it will push Democratic governors to achieve. Moss said the bottom line is working with those who put public education first, regardless of political inclination.