A recently leaked survey of staff salaries at the National Education Association’s state affiliates discloses earnings far beyond those of the average U.S. teacher.
The 1995 study, conducted by the NEA itself, lists the average salaries in each state affiliate (and NEA headquarters in Washington, D.C.) for both the professional staff and the support staff. Professional staff consists mainly of UniServ representatives — union officials who carry out the tasks of collective bargaining and political organizing in local districts throughout each state. Support staff includes research assistants, secretaries and receptionists. The survey does not include the salaries of management officials (e.g. presidents, executive directors, department heads).
The salary list for professional staffers (Table 1) reveals the average salaries at each and every affiliate exceeded the average 1995 U.S. teacher salary of $36,744.
The New Jersey Education Association led the way with an average professional salary of $85,484. NEA headquarters, Alaska, Connecticut, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Michi-gan, Pennsylvania and Ohio rounded out the top 10.
The study also shows that support staff salaries (Table 2) for five organizations (Alaska, California, NEA, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts) exceeded the average 1995 U.S. teacher salary.
While numbers for staff benefits were unavailable, union staff contracts usually contain annual benefits worth 30 to 40 percent of salary.
1995 NEA STATE AFFILIATE STAFF STUDY
Professional Staff – Average Salary
State
1995
1994
1993
1)New Jersey $85,484$81,037$81,522
2)NEA 82,72082,68472,235
3)Alaska 81,81578,83178,576
4)Connecticut 80,32880,12774,832
5)California 78,20976,50475,725
6)Oregon 77,25275,06570,478
7)Massachusetts 77,13972,70870,957
8)Michigan 76,32475,14974,821
9)Pennsylvania 75,23672,77868,437
10)Ohio 74,40370,27766,046
11)Indiana 72,06171,41367,753
12)Maryland 71,69569,38363,824
13)Wisconsin 71,50467,74364,857
14)Iowa 70,82467,99264,235
15)Washington 70,25870,00269,865
16)Colorado 69,66867,94766,094
17)Illinois 68,10664,29360,891
18)New York 67,48864,83362,853
19)Minnesota 66,78763,80961,896
20)New Hampshire 65,65462,57560,918
21)Vermont 63,32563,52561,013
22)Delaware 62,54458,98358,191
23)Montana 62,37459,53456,003
24)Maine 60,35357,63754,183
25)Tennessee 60,30459,96559,242
26)Nebraska 59,83455,73555,291
27)Kansas 57,40254,12551,571
28)Missouri 56,67857,35356,274
29)Virginia 56,52056,30054,788
30)Florida 55,96353,40050,400
31)Kentucky 54,75053,33553,272
32)Nevada 54,10847,84649,488
33)Arizona 53,30652,28051,944
34)Utah 52,98555,58153,134
35)Arkansas 51,94249,24546,078
36)Hawaii 51,61452,28850,506
37)Georgia 50,72550,39145,004
38)Oklahoma 47,77946,80044,827
39)New Mexico 47,59347,42944,810
40)North Dakota 47,30343,65041,900
41)Wyoming 47,29143,66145,237
42)Idaho 45,05248,08047,840
43)Texas 44,97741,29339,286
44)Louisiana 43,63143,87742,318
45)West Virginia 43,25043,30539,818
46)North Carolina 43,21840,83041,900
47)Alabama 42,96146,22043,969
48)South Carolina 40,97243,21743,225
49)South Dakota 39,54135,72638,230
50)Mississippi 37,64535,98235,873
Not surveyed for 1995: Rhode Island. 1994 avg. = $61,774, 1993 avg. = $59,930.
Support Staff – Average Salary
State
1995
1994
1993
1) Alaska $44,425 $51,348 $51,224
2) California 39,848 39,538 38,812
3) NEA 38,517 53,232 38,033
4) Pennsylvania 38,046 33,456 32,676
5) Massachusetts 37,498 37,709 35,434
6) Washington 35,211 34,504 32,966
7) New Jersey 34,968 33,484 31,615
8) Ohio 34,556 32,242 30,585
9) Michigan 33,790 32,833 31,426
10) Colorado 32,710 32,420 31,424
11) Virginia 32,340 30,700 29,425
12) Vermont 32,125 32,100 29,040
13) Wisconsin 31,607 28,791 29,938
14) Oregon 31,101 30,549 27,196
15) Georgia 30,933 30,621 29,297
16) Maine 30,671 28,461 27,076
17) Connecticut 30,310 29,124 27,871
18) New York 30,014 30,708 29,373
19) Maryland 29,666 28,158 26,934
20) Wyoming 29,612 28,411 27,564
21) Illinois 29,172 27,417 26,208
22) Florida 29,134 27,800 26,230
23) Arizona 29,127 27,494 27,058
24) Delaware 29,111 26,895 26,896
25) Missouri 28,950 29,446 28,356
26) Indiana 28,727 28,314 27,845
27) New Hampshire 28,516 30,945 30,460
28) Montana 28,213 26,802 21,768
29) Alabama 27,923 26,720 26,918
30) Minnesota 26,809 25,733 24,996
31) Arkansas 26,646 25,932 24,249
32) Hawaii 26,643 28,826 27,463
33) Iowa 26,011 25,602 23,005
34) South Carolina 25,945 24,772 23,334
35) South Dakota 25,843 24,291 20,786
36) New Mexico 25,047 24,861 23,115
37) Kentucky 24,919 23,340 23,629
38) Oklahoma 24,842 22,729 21,654
39) Tennessee 24,657 24,657 24,512
40) Nebraska 24,545 24,123 23,556
41) Mississippi 23,972 22,903 22,562
42) Kansas 23,571 21,332 20,763
43) Texas 23,500 21,285 21,053
44) Nevada 23,454 23,442 20,552
45) West Virginia 23,219 23,058 22,179
46) Utah 22,389 21,122 19,616
47) Louisiana 22,127 20,909 19,003
48) North Carolina 22,013 19,853 19,900
49) Idaho 21,756 22,065 21,055
Not surveyed for 1995: Rhode Island — 1994 avg. = $25,714, 1993 avg. = $29,314, and North Dakota — no data.
