As head of MEA-MFT, Montana’s teachers’ union, Eric Feaver’s job is to stand up for the little guy. But on payday, he is not at all one of the little guys.
Feaver, a formidable political force, pulled down nearly $126,000 in 2013, according to the union’s federal filing. That puts him among the top 10 percent of wage earners in all of Montana.
He is not Montana’s highest-paid union official. That honor goes to Norman Dixon, business manager of a local electrical workers union, who brought in nearly $130,000 in 2013.
But Feaver’s high pay is more notable because of his outspoken political advocacy for class warfare, along with a questionable record of achievement as union president.
Consider his crafting of a 2003 law that blew a $2.4 billion hole in Montana’s two largest pension systems, a mess state lawmakers had to clean up with serious reforms last year. Or,Feaver’s ardent defense of U.S. Sen. John Walsh after the New York Times revealed him as a plagiarist.
More troubling could be Feaver’s endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Curtis, who Montana Democrats tapped to run after Walsh decided to pull out of the race last month. Media outlets revealed Curtis as an extremist with ties to a union group intent on overthrowing America’s capitalist system.
He isn’t the only union boss raking in the cash on the backs of the MEA-MFT’s 17,500 dues-paying members. Eric Burke, the group’s executive director, made $116,651 last year. MEA-MFT’s political director, Terry Minnow, pocketed $114,522 in 2013.
