Njea Backed In Trenton

By Laura Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: November 06, 1987

After a scrappy battle between the state's two teachers' unions, Trenton teachers voted 584 to 432 yesterday to continue their membership with the powerful New Jersey Education Association.

The election confirmed the strength of the NJEA, the second-largest state affiliate of the National Education Association and a formidable lobby in Trenton.

The American Federation of Teachers was vying for the loyalty of Trenton's 1,100 teachers. Nationally, the National Education Association's members outnumber those of the AFT by more than 3 to 1.

With 125,000 members, the NJEA has a virtual monopoly on the bargaining rights of the state's teachers. The New Jersey Federation of Teachers has about 6,000 members.

Thirty percent of the district's teachers signed a petition earlier this year requesting yesterday's election.

Many were dissatisfied with the Trenton Education Association, the local affiliate of the NJEA, said Mel Driban, an AFT representative. The local unit had a "poor service record," he said, and had botched last year's contract negotiations, he said.

However, Stacy Morgan, president of the Trenton local, said that new officers were elected since the negotiations and that they had made efforts to provide more "open communication" with members.

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