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State by state the NEA and the AFT are merging into one. An example:
April 5, 2000 - Teachers' Unions To Merge In Two More States*** Members of the two teachers' unions in Montana were poised to celebrate late last week as their organizations cemented a long-planned merger.
The new union, in the works for two years, is the second state-level merger of affiliates of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. In 1998, state affiliates in Minnesota came together to form Education Minnesota. And next month, members of the Florida affiliates will hold a founding convention to launch a 100,000-member unified organization.
"When we stand before the legislature, the governor, the board of regents, and the board of public education, we'll be one, we'll speak with one voice," said Eric Feaver, who was running unopposed for president of the Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers. Mr. Feaver had previously served as the head of the 10,000-member NEA affiliate. The association is combining forces with the 5,500-member federation affiliate, whose president, Jim McGarvey, had no challenger for vice president of the new organization. ***
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Teachers' Unions in Power and Politics***This book is an effort to describe the structure, operations, and influence of teacher unions, especially the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The context should make it clear whether the organization titles include their state and local affiliates. The authors believe that an NEA/AFT merger will take place in the 1990s, but whether or not this happens, the emergence of strong teacher unions is an important development in education, in the labor movement, in the economy, and in American politics. Because their role is so pervasive but also so widely overlooked, a brief comment on the subject may serve as an introduction to this book.***