Columbus Ed Association joins AFL-CIO.

Back almost a decade ago, when I was the only delegate from the IEA to the NEA Representative Assembly that voted for merger with the American Federation of Teachers (it was a secret vote, but the standing vote on follow-up procedural motions showed me to be a lonely Illinois voter for national teacher union unity), suspicion of the AFL-CIO was a card the state leadership played well.

So it is interesting to see that the Columbus Education Association has joined the labor federation.

In the spring of 2006, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO signed the historic Labor Solidarity Partnership Agreement. Years in the making, this agreement allows NEA locals, such as the Columbus Education Association to affiliate directly with the national AFL-CIO, as well as join AFL-CIO labor councils and state labor federations.