AFT, NEA Agendas Converge Amid External, Internal Pressure
What may end up being a new era for the teachers’ unions began, fittingly, with a marriage.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten was a guest of honor at incoming National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa’s wedding, held concurrently with the NEA’s Representative Assembly in Denver this month. A few weeks later, Ms. GarcÃa gave a rousing speech to AFT delegates on the final day of that union’s convention, in Los Angeles.
“The AFT and the NEA will try to forge a new relationship,” Ms. Weingarten said while introducing her counterpart. “Part of that is because our members, our communities, our families demand it. We’re not going to be able to fight back ... unless we work shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand.”
While the actual degree of collaboration between the two unions remains to be seen, the conventions illustrated a remarkable policy convergence, portending what could indeed be a more unified response to national and state education issues.
At their meetings, both the NEA and the AFT passed resolutions targeting U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Both attacked the prominence of standardized-test scores in judging both students and teachers. And in recent weeks, both unions have qualified their support for the Common Core State Standards, especially as it pertains to implementation.
The convergence, observers say, is the product not only of the unions’ need to circle the wagons in the face of legislative and legal attacks, but also of the pressure brought by internal factions that have urged the unions to take a tougher stance against market-based education policies.
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To be sure, the differences between the unions remain stark and many, particularly in their internal structures. A national merger remains unlikely: NEA delegates firmly nixed that idea just last year, more than 15 years after voting down a formal merger proposal.
But when it comes to topics like testing, their rhetoric now largely matches.
“NEA and AFT are on this parallel course right now. They’re moving in the AFT, NEA Agendas Converge Amid External, Internal Pressure - Education Week:
