Teacher Union Votes to Merge With NEA

The nation’s second-largest teachers’ union voted overwhelmingly to merge with its larger rival, a largely symbolic move, as its would-be partner rejected the initial proposal. Delegates to the American Federation of Teachers convention, in New Orleans, voted 1,982-46 to join with the National Education Assn. and create the country’s largest single union. NEA delegates voted against the merger at their convention July 5, saying the blueprint for the merger failed to answer many questions about how the new union would be organized. Leaders of the two unions will meet this year in an attempt to draw up new merger terms.