Bob Chase, the president of the NEA, agreed. Both unions have felt besieged by the growing calls for vouchers and, to a lesser extent, charter schools. They also have chaffed at being blamed for schools' ills, including low test scores. The conceptual agreement, which must be hammered into a set of principles for delegates to vote on this summer, appears to resolve the key outstanding issues that had stalled earlier merger talks. Last month, union leaders confirmed they had overcome the thorny issue of AFL-cio affiliation.
Some issues still remain, including the roles of state and local affiliates.
But we are still searching for the best way to give locals the option of providing their own services or choosing to rely on state organizations. State and local affiliates of the two unions would be encouraged, but not required, to merge. State and local affiliates would choose whether to affiliate with the AFL-CIO, except that AFT affiliates would continue their current link to the labor group. But it also would give full membership rights, and a voice in governance, to noneducation employees such as state and local government workers. Currently, the AFT says it has 85,000 members whose jobs are not related in any way to education.