Contents by
Section: July 1998
Front
Page
Lead Story
They're talking on campus...
On the Road
ActionLine NEA
In the Know
From Capital to Campus
NEA Affilitates in Action
Higher Education News
Money Savvy
The Dialogue
Thriving in Academe
A Higher Ed State President in Florida
In Florida, they take unity seriously. For years, presidents of NEA's state-level affiliate, the Florida Teaching Profession/NEA, have worked to make sure that all of the members work together and support one another, no matter what their role in education.
Now this cooperative spirit has come to full fruition with the election of a higher ed member, Maureen Dinnen, a history professor at Broward Community College, as president of the Florida Teaching Profession/NEA.
Notes Dinnen, a former K-12 teacher and a longtime Association activist: "We've been pushing unity in Florida for years in a number of different areas, K-12 and higher ed, teachers and support personnel. "We've learned from one another."
Delegates at the recent Florida annual meeting voted to endorse the AFT/NEA Principles of Unity at the national level. At the state level, FTP/NEA is ready to merge with Florida's AFT affiliate. Why is Florida so far along the road to unity?
"For one thing, there's the ultra right," says Dinnen. "They're a threat to all educators."
Adds the new Florida president: "We've had the experience of people moving here to Florida from everywhere. That's helped us learn to look at a variety of ways of doing things."
