NEA-AFT Unity Talks are Continuing
Unity talks are continuing at the state and national levels following
this summer’s vote delaying merger of the NEA and American Federation
of Teachers.
 NEA President Bob Chase (above) peeks around
Vice President Al Gore as Gore addresses the NEA Representative
Assembly. Gore said private school voucher programs like the one
in Milwaukee are fraudulent and dangerous and harm public schools.
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Although delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly voted down merger
this year, they also approved a motion setting the course for continued
cooperation and collaboration with the AFT and proclaiming their commitment
to pursuing unity. At the state level, WEAC President Terry Craney said
WEAC and the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers will continue to work together
on issues that benefit public education and children.
“We are disappointed that delegates at the NEA Representative Assembly
did not choose to make the American Federation of Teachers part of our
education family at this time,” Craney said. “Unity would have
created one voice for children and schools at a time when public education
is coming under increasing attack.”
Craney said WEAC and the WFT will continue collaborative activities that
have been under way for several years.
“WEAC and the WFT have been working closely on many activities since
1990,” Craney said. “It took several years for us to become
comfortable with our relationship, and it will probably take that long
for other states to achieve that same success.
“Delegates from many other states were not comfortable with unification
now,” he said. “The challenge is to demonstrate the necessity
and benefits of speaking and acting in concert on behalf of public education
and our children.”
Pat Gille, a retired WEAC member from Green Bay, donned a
striped top hat as part of a huge Fourth of July celebration of
the “Read Across America” program. The NEA-sponsored
event will be held again on March 2, 1999, which is the birthday
of Dr. Seuss. — Photos by Randy Sus
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At the NEA RA in New Orleans, delegates voted down an immediate merger
but voted overwhelmingly to move ahead toward uniting the two organizations.
Two weeks later, delegates to the AFT Convention also voted to continue
unity talks with the NEA.
“Delegates have charted a clear direction,” said NEA President
Bob Chase. “The dream of uniting America’s educators in a single
organization is very much alive. NEA delegates left the Representative
Assembly with a single voice, and that is a strong voice for unity. The
NEA family is fully committed to reaching that shared goal.”
The New Business Item adopted by the delegates directs the association
to continue the NEA/AFT Joint Council’s efforts to enhance teacher
quality, improve school safety and discipline, and modernize America’s
school buildings. The measure also establishes a procedure to set guidelines
under which state affiliates could unite.
Several states are at various stages in developing unification agreements.
As part of the action, delegates voted to encourage the NEA and AFT to
continue their “no-raid” agreement, which discourages representational
battles between local affiliates of both organizations.
The NEA is the nation’s largest professional employee organization,
representing more than 2.4 million elementary and secondary teachers,
higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators,
retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.
WEAC — with 86,500 members — is the Wisconsin state affiliate
of the NEA. About 650 local associations are affiliated with WEAC and
Wisconsin UniServs.
Diaz-Arntzen elected
Waukesha teacher Cristina Diaz-Arntzen has been elected secretary of
the NEA’s Hispanic Caucus. The vote took place at the NEA Convention
in New Orleans. She is a 3rd-grade teacher at Rose Glen Elementary School.
Posted August 31, 1998