| COMMUNIQUÉ
— April 14, 1998
+ Opposition to the proposed NEA/AFT merger has grown to the point
where the outcome of the July vote is in serious doubt. The secret ballot
vote at the
NEA Representative Assembly will require a 2/3rds majority to approve
the
merger. Since the 10 largest NEA state affiliates have more than 50%
of the
votes, union officials thought it would take only a minor campaign
to gain
the necessary margin. That strategy now seems to be falling apart.
Recent events make it clear that NEA will need landslides in pro-merger
states in order to overcome a coalescing opposition.
-
The Illinois Education Association (ranked 6th in membership) voted to
oppose merger by a 2-1 margin.
-
The Iowa State Education Association (ranked 22nd) voted to oppose merger
by a nearly 3-1 margin.
-
Affiliates from several right-to-work states — most specifically Georgia,
Virginia and Iowa — have threatened to disaffiliate from NEA if the merger
is approved.
The vote margin in Iowa was
particularly galling, since it came
after NEA President Bob Chase had addressed ISEA's delegates. NEA continues
to send high officials out to state conventions in an effort to gather
support.
One major issue is causing
the uproar — affiliation with AFL-CIO.
Affiliates in right-to-work states are convinced that the merger will
finish them. "In a right to work state, [merger] could cause us a great
membership drop," notes ISEA President Bob Gilchrist. "If members think
we are ‘just a union' they will stop joining and join the Professional
Educators of Iowa. They are just waiting to send out a mailing." Professional
Educators of Iowa is one of
many alternative teacher associations throughout the nation. These
organizations tend to be less partisan, less politically active, and a
lot less expensive to join than are NEA/AFT affiliates.
Ironically, an NEA/AFT merger,
meant to reduce competition between
the two union giants, may engender cutthroat membership wars between
affiliates of the merged organization and former NEA affiliates. It's possible
that a teacher union monopoly at the national level could lead to market
competition for unions and teacher organizations in a significant number
of states.
Others have noted the contradiction
between Chase's push for new
unionism and his simultaneous push for affiliation with the symbol
of old unionism — the AFL-CIO. Signs of pro-merger anxiety are beginning
to show. One NEA publication ran a story with the lead: "An array of right-wing
organizations and individuals have stepped up their rhetoric against the
proposed unification of NEA and the American Federation of Teachers. One
group opposed to public education has sent letters directly to Association
members cautioning against merger." The story prompted the president of
an Arizona local affiliate to remark, "I sincerely hope that NEA's focus
does not
become to ‘force' a merger/union just to spite the ‘radical right'...
More games, I fear."
+ Rumors reported by EIA last fall came only half-true. In September,
EIA
reported that it was "very likely" that an outsider would become the
next
NEA communications director. The new director, however, comes
from neither the Kamber Group nor the White House. Her name is Kate Mattos,
previously the managing director of Osgood, O'Donnell and Walsh, a "communications
and strategies consulting firm" in Washington, DC. Mattos also spent four
years as director of public affairs for AFT. Mattos has worked for three
members of Congress and two presidential campaigns (guess which two?).
+ NEA is prominent among those who gave generously to the financially
strapped Democratic National Committee in the first quarter of 1998.
The
union donated $100,500 to the DNC between January and March.
+ U.S District Judge Jeffrey Miller tossed out a lawsuit filed
by the
Grossmont Education Association (CA). The union claimed the school
district
had violated its First Amendment rights by refusing to let the union
use
school mailboxes to distribute a newsletter advocating the recall of
a
school board member. The California Education Code prohibits use of
public funds, equipment or facilities to take sides in elections. The suit
could have had wide-ranging repercussions throughout California, because
the union claimed this provision of the code was "overly broad and vague."
Judge Miller
dismissed that argument entirely.
+ In the early days of this century, many union members gave their
blood
for their unions. Today in Wisconsin, a union is asking its members
to withhold their blood. Laboratory and office employees of the American
Red Cross in Madison and Green Bay have been working without a contract
since November. Their union — Wisconsin Council 40 of the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — urged them
to stop donating blood until a new contract is ratified. The Wisconsin
AFL-CIO also authorized a statewide boycott of blood donations. The Red
Cross claims that the last time this tactic was tried, blood donations
increased.
+ Quote of the Week #1: "I think if they get paid $60,000 or $70,000
a
year, they should get... in to work." — Tom Danley, offering his opinion
of the
illegal Paterson (NJ) teachers' strike. Danley is a deliveryman for
Cream-O-
Land dairy. He was greeted with cries of "Scab!" and "Who taught you
how to
read?" from members of the Paterson Education Association, who were
walking a picket line outside P.S. 24.
+ Quote of the Week #2: "They told me to sign in and stay there.
But I
ain't staying there for nothing. I just felt I was wasting my time."
— Joseph
Davies, a 15-year-old sophomore at Eastside High School in Paterson.
Paterson schools have been under state control since 1991 because of
low test scores and poor administration. No word on whether young Mr. Davies
opted to spend the day with a grammar book.
+ Quote of the Week #3: "This is such an unbalanced playing field."
—
Paterson Education Association President Peter Tirri, after Judge Amos
C.
Saunders ordered the teachers back to work. Paterson teachers average
$54,689 per year, which is 9% more than the state average. The median
income in Paterson is $12,000. More than 80 percent of the teachers do
not live in Paterson.
Union officials and district negotiators subsequently
reached a tentative
agreement. Details were not disclosed. |
|
The Education Intelligence Agency