From the Vault: October 6, 1998
On September 21 and 28, EIA reported on the curious merger of the Minnesota Education Association and the Minnesota Federation of Teachers on September 1. Under a new business item passed by the NEA Representative Assembly in July (and, coincidentally, submitted by MEA President Judy Schaubach), no state mergers could take place until guidelines were passed by the NEA Board of Directors. This has not yet happened. When EIA asked NEA President Bob Chase about this last week, he replied, “The state affiliates in Minnesota have merged,” he said, “and we will now institute the process for them to affiliate with us.” Then asked, “Are you saying that during the interim period, Education Minnesota is not affiliated with the national unions?” His answer was interrupted by AFT President Sandra Feldman, who remarked, “I consider them to be an affiliate.”
EIA is now able to report that Education Minnesota (EM) is currently affiliated only with AFT, having been refused affiliation by NEA for violating the new business item.
No word of this has gotten into the news, but NEA has sent a helpful question and answer sheet to its affiliates in preparation for this weekend’s Board of Directors meeting. The document notes that MEA violated NBI#1 and “it is for that reason that NEA to date has refused to recognize EM as a state affiliate. EM informs us that because of legal and organizational commitments, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to postpone the September 1 merger date.”
On Friday and Saturday, the NEA Board will be asked to approve guidelines for Minnesota alone. If approved, the Executive Committee will be asked to take immediate action on EM’s application for affiliation with NEA. Guidelines for other states will be developed at subsequent board meetings in December and February. The Minnesota directors will not be seated at the meeting until and unless the Board approves the special merger guidelines and the Executive Committee then approves its affiliation application.
In the meantime, according to the document, “NEA has entered into a 6‑week service contract with EM, pursuant to which NEA is providing services and benefits to EM, EM’s local affiliates, and EM’s members. If the Board of Directors approves the proposed guidelines at its meeting on October 9‑10, and EM is affiliated at that time, EM will pay full NEA dues retroactive to September 1, which will cover the cost of these services and benefits. If EM is not affiliated at that time, EM will be legally obligated under the service contract to reimburse NEA for the cost of the services and benefits that were provided during the interim period.”
Under the NEA unified dues structure, Minnesota members are liable to pay full national dues for the entire 1998-99 membership year. However, under its merger agreement, 35% of EM’s national dues are to go to AFT. This dual commitment requires EM to come up with an additional 35% somewhere. According to the NEA document, “In order to enable EM to pay the remaining 35% of the NEA dues on a timely basis in accordance with NEA Bylaw 2‑9, the Board of Directors will be asked at its October 9‑10 meeting to authorize a long‑term loan of up to $2.5 million to EM.”
However, NEA will ask its Board of Directors to place before the 1999 NEA Representative Assembly “the question of whether to waive - in whole or in part - the loan to EM.”
I encourage NEA readers, particularly those from state affiliates who voted against the national merger, to call or e-mail EIA with your thoughts on this development.
