*The Illinois Education Association (ranked 6^th in membership) voted to oppose merger by a 2-1 margin.

*The Iowa State Education Association (ranked 22^nd) 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?).

+ 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.