In my post today at WHYY’s Newsworks I wonder why NJEA, NJ’s primary teacher union, decided to sit on its hands during the special election for U.S. Senate.

It’s been a great week for senatorial-hopeful Cory Booker. With two months until the primary on August 13 for the late Senator Frank Lautenberg’s unexpired term, polls show the Newark super mayor well ahead of his two main rivals, Congressmen Rush Holt and Frank Pallone. And then another big break: N.J.’s primary teachers’ union, NJEA, just announced that it will not endorse any candidates for this special election.

Why the silence from this typically loose-lipped organization? Why not endorse Holt, a widely-respected nuclear physicist with a thoughtful and union-friendly education agenda? Or Pallone, who boasts a 100% favorable rating from NEA, NJEA’s parent group? And why would the union pass on an opportunity to challenge Booker, an ardent education reformer who holds many positions antithetical to teacher union leadership?

Read the rest here.