NYSUT Division of Research and Educational Services, Maria Neira Files

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) was created in 1972 by the merger of the New York State Teachers Association (NYSTA) and the United Teachers of New York (UTNY). NYSTA had been affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), and UTNY with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). UTNY was the statewide organization whose United Federation of Teachers (UFT), led by Albert Shanker, was the predominant teachers' union in New York City. In joining with United Teachers and affiliating with the AFT, NYSUT also became a member union of the AFL-CIO.

In 1976, NYSUT voted to disaffiliate with the NEA. Some locals left NYSUT and created the NYEA (New York Educators Association), which became the state affiliate for the NEA. In the early 1980s, NYEA changed its name to NEA-NY.

NYEA/NEA- NY viewed association with the AFL-CIO's industrial unions as undermining the professional image and independence of teachers. The two organizations also differed strongly on aspects of the governance structure, particularly with respect to ethnic minority representation, with NYSUT opposed to mandatory minimums. The rivalry between NYSUT and NYEA/NEA-NY in organizing new locals expended a great deal of resources for both labor organizations.

While competition with NYEA/NEA-NY was a constant focus of NYSUT's organizing efforts for teachers, NYSUT was also organizing college faculty members, nurses, and other non-teaching personnel. Once members were organized, NYSUT continued to advocate for teachers' and other workers' rights through contract support and legal services at the local level and political involvement at the state and federal levels, supporting candidates and legislation that protected funding, due process, and working conditions.

NEA-N Y merged with NYSUT in 2006, by which time NYSUT had grown to more than half a million members, becoming the largest union in New York State.

As vice president of New York State United Teachers, Maria Neira oversees the union's initiatives on educational policy and is NYSUT's frontline advocate to the New York State Board of Regents and the State Education Department. At her direction, the NYSUT Education & Learning Trust, the union's professional development arm, has strengthened and expanded educational opportunities for teachers and other school staff.



Neira was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. She also serves on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Advisory Council. She is a member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and the founding publisher of Educator's Voice.



An AFT vice president, she also serves as a vice president of the New York State AFL-CIO Executive Council and as a member of the Board of Directors of the AFL-CIO's Workforce Development Institute. She is a member of the New York State Workforce Investment Board, the Greater Capital Region United Way Board of Directors, Capital District's 100 Hispanic Women, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund. She directs NYSUT's fundraising as a statewide flagship sponsor for American Cancer Society programs, including the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer annual walks in which union volunteers have raised millions for the cause. She has served on many state committees, including the governor's Children's Cabinet Advisory Board and the State Committee of Practitioners, and is a member of several other professional organizations.



Neira is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, the Educational Leadership Award of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and the YMCA Northeast New York Woman of Achievement Award. She has been honored by the United Federation of Teachers Hispanic Affairs Committee, the Hispanic Latino Cultural Center, Long Island Latino Teachers Association, the Schenectady Hispanic Heritage Committee and the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York.



Neira previously served as assistant to the president on education issues for the United Federation of Teachers, NYSUT's affiliate in New York City public schools, where she directed a wide range of education initiatives and helped develop strategic plans for education reform. She also served as director of the UFT's Special Educator Support Program. Neira began her teaching career in New York City in 1977 and was a fourth-grade bilingual teacher at the Bilingual Bicultural Mini School in Manhattan.



Neira holds a B.A. and an M.S. from Hunter College of the City University of New York.