+ People mistakenly assume that most EIA information comes from secret sources. This is not the case. EIA will often enter through the front door. This approach is sometimes greeted cordially, and is sometimes greeted with a two-by-four to the face. Case in point was last week’s attempt to reduce the number of "unknowns" in the NEA state affiliate merger vote count. I faxed requests to eight NEA state affiliates. Six failed to respond. Stephen Gorrie, president of the Massachusetts Teacher Association, reported that MTA delegates voted to oppose the Principles of Unity. "Although the vote was a ‘hand’ vote," he wrote, "it was easily 4-1 to oppose."

Contrast this friendly response with that of Mary A. Washington, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators. She wrote: "Dear Mike, LAE’s position on the merger is none of your business! Sincerely, Mary." Ms. Washington had thrown down the gauntlet, but I could only think of three people in Louisiana I could ask. Nevertheless, within 77 minutes EIA had its answer and two confirmations. Not only did LAE "hate" the merger and have "deep misgivings," but Ms. Washington herself has criticized it. My sources on this shall remain nameless, lest they suffer Mary’s wrath.

The Maine Education Association’s delegate assembly also voted (by a 70%-30% margin) to oppose the merger. Here are the latest vote totals:

Anti-merger — New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Connecticut, Maine, Louisiana, West Virginia, New Hampshire. TOTAL = 31.5%

No position — Pennsylvania, Ohio, Alabama, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky, Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Utah, Alaska, Delaware, Vermont, South Dakota. TOTAL = 33.0%

Unknown — Arkansas, Hawaii, South Carolina, Idaho, North Dakota. TOTAL = 3.1%.

Even more significant than these votes is the fact that the opposition is organizing itself for the NEA Representative Assembly in New Orleans. State affiliate presidents from New Jersey, Illinois, Iowa and other states and locals have already met. They call themselves the Coalition for Democratic Principles and plan to support a new business item drafted by the Illinois Education Association once the merger is defeated. Called "Unity Without Merger," it proposes the continuation of the AFT/NEA Joint Council, continuation of the national "no-raid" agreement, closer collaboration with AFT, and permission for state affiliate mergers to take place.

+ Which NEA individual benefits the most if merger fails? Paradoxically enough, the answer is: one of its most ardent supporters. NEA Vice President Reg Weaver is an African-American from Illinois who has been crossing the country stumping for merger. Should merger pass, NEA President Bob Chase becomes president of the New Organization, with AFT President Sandra Feldman set in place as executive vice president and heir-apparent. Also eliminated are NEA’s minority election guarantees. If merger fails, Feldman no longer matters, and Bob Chase would be severely weakened and up for re-election next year. An NEA constitutional provision calling for a minority president at least every 11 years would remain in place. NEA’s last minority president was Mary Hatwood Futrell, who left office in 1989. A merger defeat would leave Weaver in the proverbial driver’s seat.

+ Lost in the hubbub over merger is the usual scrutiny given to NEA’s annual resolutions. Only three years ago, NEA added support for a Lesbian and Gay History Month to its resolutions, only to find itself forced by membership losses in southern states to delete its support in 1996. This year, there are three resolution amendments worth noting:

1) NEA’s current resolution already expresses apprehension about home schooling. The amendment offered up this year adds the provision: "Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents." The amendment further adds that "The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools."

2) NEA’s prize resolution from 1997, the one authorizing peer review programs, had the extraordinary provision that the consulting teacher be selected "with the approval of the participating teacher involved." An amendment will be offered to strengthen this to read "to allow participating teachers the selection and/or approval of their assignment to a consulting teacher."

3) NEA has championed a wide array of liberal causes in its resolutions, but this year adds a new one. A new amendment would read: "The Association condemns the practice of capital punishment and believes that the alternative, life imprisonment without parole, better protects the basic human rights of all." Apparently this amendment was hotly contested in the NEA Resolutions Committee, prompting a minority report calling for the retention of the original language of the resolution, which condemns violence without specific mention of capital punishment.

+ The Cincinnati public schools made the news again. Two weeks after a report that the union’s peer review program had rid the district of a grand total of three veteran teachers, comes the news that Cincinnati’s schools met only four of 18 state standards of academic performance and student attendance.

+ Researchers from the University of Chicago have found that children as young as three can add, subtract and recognize numbers. Insert your own wisecrack here.

+ The Washington Education Association, forced to refund $5 of each member’s dues by a settlement of campaign reporting violations with the state attorney general, is adding insult to injury to those who claim the union got off easy. WEA is encouraging members to "simply write a $5 check to WEA to offset the automatic reduction in your Community Outreach dues next year." The union has actually raised more money for politics after the settlement, despite the fact that political action committee participation has dropped to less than 15 percent of the membership. PAC membership in the Seattle Education Association, WEA’s largest local, is under 4 percent.

+ Quote of the Week: "I would guess that if this passes this summer in New Orleans, teachers wouldn’t notice a bit of difference." — Kansas-NEA President Gene Neely, on the proposed NEA/AFT merger.