NYSUT/NEA Merger Now A Done Deal

By HOWARD MEGDAL

Leaders of the New York State United Teachers and the New York branch of the National Education Association signed an agreement last month which unified the two unions effective Sept. 1.

RICHARD IANNUZZI: 'Making an imprint.'

Delegates from both the 575,000-strong NYSUT and the 35,000-member NEA/NY voted earlier this year to merge, citing the advantages of a united voice and access to each group's resources, after negotiations that took more than two years to complete.

'Meeting Members' Needs'

"We are making an imprint," NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi said at the signing at NYSUT headquarters in Latham, "and we will move forward to carry out NYSUT's mission of meeting the needs of our members and the children and patients we serve."

The agreement states that NYSUT will be affiliated at the national level with both the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers. Such a move proved difficult in the wake of a failed NEA/AFT merger in 1998.

"We were delighted that we could work through some of those difficulties," NEA/NY Vice President Matt Jacobs said at the time of the ratification vote.

The advantages for NEA/NY of partnering with NYSUT include access to the larger union's tuition reduction program, which offers reduced rates to many members attending graduate school; an extensive leadership training program, and NYSUT's political clout in Albany.

NYSUT benefits by bringing all state Teachers under one union umbrella, and cultivating a closer relationship with the national NEA.