and more conservative, both unions felt merger would be advantageous. But continuing conflict between the two unions kept merger talks from progressing very far. The conditions for merger improved in the mid-1990s. In 1996, the national NEA and AFT signed a no-raid agreement. The unions encouraged each state to also sign no-raid and jurisdictional agreements, and both teachers' federations in Florida quickly did so. With raiding no longer causing tensions between FTP-NEA and FEA-United, a merger was quickly agreed to. FTP-NEA's Board of Directors signed off on the terms of a merger in April 1998, with FEA-United following suit in June. Members of each organization approved the merger in April and May 1999, and a founding convention was held in June 2000. The combined federation, now calling itself by its original name, represented about 240,000 members and was the largest labor organization in the state. Maureen Dinnen, a Broward County community college professor, was elected president. She subsequently won election as an AFT vice president as well. Post-merger Political effectiveness Since the merger in 2000, FEA has been involved in a number of political battles. Florida's governor's office and state legislature have been dominated by Republicans, who have proven legislatively active and willing to experiment with a number of new educational policies. FEA, traditionally much more prone to lean Democratic, has engaged in draining and lengthy battles over school vouchers, teacher tenure, merit pay, bonus pay, bans and limitations on the collection of teacher union dues, the teaching of creationism, student testing, classroom overcrowding and salaries. However, some observers claim the merger has not had positive results. Critics argue that local FEA unions are less effective in collective bargaining, local and state annual dues are too high, young teachers are reluctant to join their local affiliates, and neither the state association nor local unions have done much to protect under-performing teachers from being fired. These critics say the association is increasingly frozen out of politics in a state where Republicans control both the executive and legislative branches of government, and has made little headway in convincing the public that the candidates it backs are worth electing or the policies it supports are worth enacting. FEA supporters counter that the federation has proven effective despite these odds, and remains a force in state politics. They point to the federation's king-making role in the state's 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary, where the union's