Our Members

Our members are made up of every kind of professional working to support Colorado’s public schools, from teachers, janitors, faculty and staff to administrators, retired teachers, and those aspiring to teach.

K-12 Teachers and Special Service Providers are licensed staff who are actively working in our public school districts or BOCES to ensure our students learn the skills and content they need to be successful.

Education Support Professionals (ESP) are the classified staff in our districts and schools (full-time or part-time) who make sure students have the tools and support they need to succeed.

Even though retired educators may not go into our schools every day, they continue to advocate for our profession, our schools, and the retirement security they deserve.

Higher education employees work at one of Colorado’s many higher education institutions, including community and technical colleges as well as private and public colleges and universities.

Aspiring educators who are enrolled in a teacher preparation program or pursuing an education major in a Colorado accredited public or private college or university prior to having a teaching license and are planning to pursue a career in education.

Substitute teachers play a vital role in supporting public education. Principals, assistant principals, and other administrators work together with educators to ensure student success. Charter school teachers, special service providers and education support professionals working in Colorado charter schools help students learn differently.

STRONGER TOGETHER

By standing united, you and your colleagues stay strong and have a powerful collective voice that cannot be ignored. We are powerful. That’s why we’re a target. Education is the last great frontier. It’s an opportunity for big business to try to privatize education and make money off of our students and our public schools.

The latest in a series of attacks on public education working people by corporate CEOs, the wealthiest 1 percent, and the politicians who do their bidding is “Opt Out Today”, a failed multi-million dollar political operation run by the dark-money “Freedom” Foundation. They send unwanted, deceptive emails to union members at work and mailers to their home, pushing them to drop union membership in an effort to to decrease union membership among educators and public workers in our state.

Thankfully, you and your fellow members quickly see through their misleading leaflets, phone calls, and door knocking campaigns. In fact, far from detracting from our membership and power, the CEA has seen record membership growth over the last decade in which these organizations have been operative. More and more, educators like you and your colleagues have realized that joining your union means becoming a part of the largest Colorado movement to fight for the schools our students deserve.

WHY UNIONS ARE BEING TARGETED

Corporate wealth is fueling these attacks because they want to eliminate unions, maximize their profits at the expense of their employees and take away the collective voice of the working and middle class. This isn’t about what’s good for us or our students or public education as a whole. It’s about making it harder for working people to get ahead, making it harder for us to stand united and fight for our students, our schools, our paychecks and our benefits.

GET THE FACTS

Our public schools need you and your colleagues to advocate for our students, our schools and our communities. Being a part of your union, the Colorado Education Association strengthens your collective voice and improves the daily lives of education employees in all sorts of ways including by helping you access higher wages and addressing workload issues.

ANTI UNION GROUPS TO WATCH

Conservative foundations and think tanks are putting an increased emphasis on attacking public sector unions and public schools after the Supreme Court made its decision in the Janus v. AFSCME case.They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars across the nation to elect anti-labor and anti-public education candidates and to produce so-called “research,” television ads and mailings to bash unions. These groups try to bill themselves as pro-worker – they are not. They want to privatize our public schools, take away your voice for your students, lower taxes for corporations and the wealthy, block access to health care, cut pensions, suppress voters, gerrymander and weaken the political power of unions.These groups are already reaching into Colorado, advocating for vouchers, more charter schools, defined-contribution pensions and the destruction of public employee unions. Their goal is simple. They want to divide Americans across racial, religious and economic lines.

Show your co-workers and fellow members that you are proud to be part of your union. Pull those CEA items out of your closet, or pick some up today. You never know who you might influence.

Join The Colorado Education Association

CEA is Colorado’s largest union led by educators for educators. We are teachers, counselors, social workers , nurses, bus drivers, food service workers, education support professionals, mechanics, custodians, maintenance workers, office professionals, retired educators, future educators and everyone who makes up the diverse and vital fabric of our public school system. Our members deliver real change that promotes, advances, and protects public education. Join today to help strengthen the education profession and the quality of education for every student in Colorado’s public schools.

Salary and Benefits

Educators deserve professional pay for professional work — and the members of CEA are fighting to ensure you’re paid what you’re worth and for your benefits such as health insurance and retirement. 

Respect

From local school boards to the state legislature, elected officials are making decisions that impact our public schools — and our union has a seat at the table. CEA members are advocating for increased funding, raising respect for all public educators, and ensuring our schools are safe for all those who work and learn within them each day.

Collective Power

We advocate for pro public education laws that achieve gains for our students, educators and our community. We support you at the bargaining table, in the community, and in your schools. Through collective action can bring about change for our students, ourselves, and our community.

Student Success

We believe that ALL students — regardless of family circumstances, where they live, where they were born, how they look, who they love, or the language they speak — have the right to a public education that helps them reach their full potential. Members are the best advocates, and to that end we enable members like you to  speak with unity and authority on the issues that matter.

CEA offers top-notch professional development opportunities led by fellow educators and designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Whether it’s attending one of our conferences, taking online courses, pursuing our fellowship program, or applying for a scholarship or grant, CEA can help you be the best educator you can be!

Our statewide conferences deliver knowledge and skills for CEA members on a variety of topics including teaching and learning, racial justice and equity, LGBTQ+, education advocacy, new and veteran educator issues, and leadership skills. When you attend a CEA conference, you experience engaging workshops and sessions from leaders in public education across Colorado.

CEA membership empowers active teachers and special service providers to come together and have a say in our classrooms, schools, and workplaces. Joining together in a strong union gives us the power in numbers to negotiate with our employers about our pay and working conditions and to advocate for our profession with elected officials and other decision makers.

In addition, as a member of CEA and NEA you have access to a variety of other benefits.  Whether it’s access to legal services or discounts on shopping and travel or savings on home and car insurance, membership in the union provides a range of tangible benefits.

Join Today

CEA members are as diverse as the students we represent, but united in our purpose: fighting for the schools our students deserve. CEA members can belong to the movement in every phase of their career!

We hope you will join the thousands of Colorado teachers and special service providers who work together through our local, state and national association to help every student thrive. If you have any questions please reach out to the CEA membership team.