For more than a year the 2.3 million member National Education Association (NEA) and the 900,000 member American Federation of Teachers (AFT) engaged in merger negotiations. The plan was to bring American teachers together in one union for collective bargaining, political action, and education policy. This report gives a detailed picture of the maneuvers by the union leaders and their opponents, and the final vote that rejected the proposal. The report includes: a history of the NEA and AFT--professionalism versus unionism; the negotiations--the meeting of the joint council; principles of unity--AFL-CIO affiliation, states' rights; the debate; the vote; and the future of the NEA. (SLD)