The American Federation of Teachers may expand into Illinois an experimental Texas program that gives associate membership and some key benefits to nonunionists, the AFT leader said Monday.
Albert Shanker, president of the 610,000-member teacher union, said his board will consider whether the pilot program should be expanded into a second state, likely to be Illinois or Louisiana.
Started in 1984, the Texas program has offered associate member status to teachers for $50, or one-fifth the rate of normal AFT dues in the state. It has used direct-mail marketing techniques to lure teachers by emphasizing the AFT`s interest in various educational issues and playing down the fact that it is a labor union.
Shanker, whose union includes the Chicago Federation of Teachers, said,
”We don`t hide the fact (in mailings) that we`re a union, but we don`t put
`AFL-CIO` on every piece of literature.”
The approach is in line with some conclusions in a report last year by the AFL-CIO on labor`s future. The report made clear that many aspects of traditional unionism strike Americans as unappealing, while noting that polls demonstrate interest by nonunionists in many types of union benefits.
The Texas program has so far attracted 1,200 nonunionists and is viewed as a key test of the associate member concept.
In Texas, the new members can get group occupational liability insurance, group legal aid, as well as a chance to take part in AFT-sponsored seminars to prepare them for that state`s new compulsory teacher competency tests.
The new members do not have other traditional privileges of union membership, such as voting rights. Shanker admitted the voting rights issue is one of many that must resolved.
The union has sent mailings throughout Illinois, similar to those used in Texas, many focusing on education-related matters before the state legislature, but has not created an associate membership category there.
