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I started the Education Intelligence Agency nine years ago, with the idea that those who needed to know about the teachers’ unions would welcome a single, comprehensive source for such information. One-stop shopping, as it were.

I assumed that NEA and AFT members had a pretty good working knowledge of how their unions operated and what they were up to, so it seemed to be a good bet that most of my readers would be outsiders. But from the very beginning, EIA picked up a lot of union members as readers.

Outsiders ask all the time if I’m “afraid” of what the unions might do to me. Many of them cannot believe that I annually attend the NEA convention (and biennially, the AFT convention) in perfect safety and comfort.

“Don’t they hate your guts?” is a question I’ve heard many times.

Let me state for the record that NEA and AFT members, officers and employees as individuals are no different in person than any other group of people in any other walk of life – liberal or conservative, rich or poor, dog or cat people.

By and large, they are courteous, kind and even-tempered. Some of them do hate my guts. Some of them disagree with me loudly. But I’ve never received as much as a minor threat, a pie in the face, or anything more frightening than the mal occhio. On the contrary, the overwhelming majority of union people I encounter are very nice to me.

We’ve had long and sometimes heated discussions… about the Crusades, the Civil War, running marathons, web page layout, and the best method for cracking a polyalphabetic cipher.

Regardless of how they feel about my views, they read – and seem to enjoy – the EIA Communiqué. I’ve thought a lot about why this should be so, and I’ve concluded that virtually all communication in the teachers’ unions is vertical. That is, locals report to states, who report to national, and the process is reversed. There is little opportunity for horizontal communication, for Iowa to know what’s going on in Nevada. So, I provide that.

The other reason is because of what I report, which Education Week so picturesquely called “the smelly stuff that leaks onto the floor.” To union insiders, this is the same kind of stuff that gets passed around at staff meetings, or at the bar after a conference. The unions never, never, never report negative or embarrassing news about themselves. Yet it exists, and requires, shall we say, unofficial means of distribution.

This love/hate relationship has led to many strange liaisons between myself and the unions over the years – to the point where I have done research work for union affiliates (once being paid with restaurant coupons to avoid any record of the transaction), and helped a staffer prepare for a job interview with a union affiliate (he got the job).

Edspresso wanted to know if there were one story I did that “set off” the union more than any other. There was. It wasn’t about money, curriculum, merger, Lesbian and Gay History Month, or any other topic you might suspect. It was about the candidacy of retired Rear Adm. John F. Sigler for the position of NEA executive director in 2000.

I published the story, and have it on impeccable authority that a lot of scurrying went on at NEA headquarters. The candidates were told not to speak with me, and NEA absolutely freaked that I knew about the admiral. Three days later, John Wilson was chosen (cause and effect, I believe, but I’m willing to be corrected).

The worst part of that story is that two weeks later I tracked down the admiral through a member of his Naval Academy graduating class. He told me he couldn’t discuss the NEA situation with me.

“But the position was filled,” I said.

[Silence.]

“They did tell you, didn’t they?” I asked.

[Long silence.] “No.”

[Long silence on my end.]

Over the years, I’ve saved my favorite quotes from NEA members, officers and staff about EIA. Here is a sampling:

* I don’t want to be tarred and feathered by my colleagues, but I want to tell you that you continually and consistently get it right.

* “You were mentioned in a [union staff] meeting today…in order to chill blood and strike fear into hearts.”

* “When you were flying those C-130 transports for the Air Force, did you make any trips to Nicaragua for the Contras?”

* “They must have contacts all over the country. The speed with which they find out what is going on is amazing and frightening.”

* “I’ve always been impressed with your ability to report on events taking place in rooms where you’re not allowed.”

* “Please know that I shall continue to depend on you as the best and most reliable source of information about what’s going on in NEA and AFT – but don’t quote me on that!”

* “I have worked for the [teachers’ union] for almost ten years. Your reporting on the day to day issues I run into are unmatched by any other source.”

So my advice about dealing with union people is pretty much the same as the advice I give about dealing with reporters: treat them like individual human beings, instead of representatives of a cause, and you will find that some of them will be more than happy to reciprocate.

Mike Antonucci is director of the Education Intelligence Agency.  He blogs at Intercepts.