large Broward association, the Classroom Teachers Association (CTA). The AFT had forced an election for a new bargaining representative three times between 1975 and 1979 but had failed to win the elections. After the 1983 victory, Tony Gentile, a veteran AFT activist who had been president since 1979, became the new bargaining agent for Broward's teachers. In 1990, the AFT also successfully raided the Volusia Education Association, another large FTP-NEA local. In addition to raiding, both organizations also organized new members. For example, in 1990 FEA-United successfully organized a unit of about 450 blue-collar workers in the Hernando County school district. In 1998, full-time faculty at Miami-Dade Community College also voted to join FEA-United. In fact, during the 1980s both state unions put a high priority on organizing education support professionals across the state. It was during this period that the character of the two organizations changed from being unions that only represented teachers, to representing all categories of public school employees. But there were losses on both sides as well. In 1980, the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, the Collier County Education Association, and the Hendry County Education Association disaffiliated from FEA-United over Tornillo's increasingly dictatorial approach to running the state union, and became independent unions. Four years later all three locals chose to become affiliates of the Florida Teaching Profession-National Education Association. In 1982 the United Faculty of Florida, representing university faculty on all campuses of Florida's State University System, as well as a number of communinity college faculties, switched affiliation from FEA/United to FTP-NEA. In addition, in 1985 the FEA/United affiliate in Charlotte County was defeated by the two new FTP-NEA affiliates and lost the right to represent teachers and support personnel. In 1998, the Sarasota County Classified/Teachers Association—FEA-United's fourth-largest affiliate—voted to become independent as well, arguing that FEA-United had not done enough to service the local's contract. But despite the conflict, the two unions remained remarkably evenly matched. By 1987, FTP-NEA's membership had risen to about 37,000 members, while FEA-United's membership stood at about 30,000 members. By 2000, when the two unions merged, FTP-NEA membership had risen to 60,000 while FEA-United had 45,000. Merger By 1990, FEA-United and FTP-NEA were talking merger. Despite 15 years of competition, neither union had achieved an overwhelming majority among the state's teachers. Worse, the problems confronting the state's schools had not improved much since the mid-1970s. With state politics trending more