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Al Shanker's legacy NYSUT conference center honors his work and life 
December 4, 2002 Eadie Shanker and NYSUT President Tom Hobart. Above, front row: Elaine Sanders; NYSUT First Vice President Antonia Cortese; Shanker; Hobart; AFT Secretary-Treasurer Ed McElroy. Back row: Vito DeLeonardis; NYSUT Executive Director Jim Wood; former NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer Fred Nauman; NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin; NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer Ivan Tiger; Al Shanker's sister, Pearl Harris; artist Don Almquist; Shanker's sons, Michael and Adam, and daughter-in-law, Jayu; and NYSUT Second Vice President Walter Dunn. The curving blue wall of the new Albert Shanker Conference Center is a testament to the man whose portrait it supports - a pillar of strength and a legendary union leader. "Al Shanker achieved so much," said New York State United Teachers President Tom Hobart. "We would not be here today - there would be no NYSUT - if it had not been for his vision." The statewide union recently honored Shanker, founding co-president of NYSUT and former president of the American Federation of Teachers, with the dedication of its state-of-the-art Albert Shanker Conference Center at the union's new headquarters. "No one walking through this conference center will ever have any doubt that Al is personally much beloved and that his legacy continues to inform our future," said Eadie Shanker, wife to the late unionist. Standing near a portrait of Shanker, who died in 1997, family and friends remarked on how well his essence was portrayed - from his pensive expression to his ring and AFT lapel pin. "Thank you for capturing the real Al," Eadie Shanker told artist Don Almquist. "It's the intangible things we remember most," said AFT Secretary-Treasurer Ed McElroy. "Al was able to inspire us to perform in above average ways and to have faith and continue to believe in the dignity of everyone." In tribute to the many roles Shanker played in life - educator, union leader, internationalist, civil rights leader, opinion maker and Renaissance man - six brushed aluminum panels flank his portrait in the conference center. 'Al was a teacher' "To the very core of his being Al was a teacher," Hobart said. "Al's influence in shaping opinions, in fostering civil rights and in defending democracy in other parts of the world took him way beyond NYSUT and the AFT." Shelvy Young Abrams, a NYSUT board member and member of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, remembered Shanker's influence as president of the UFT. "It's because of Al that we have so many paras and women in the union," Abrams said. Shanker served 10 years as president of the UFT, where he led unionists in support of Martin Luther King Jr.'s campaign for southern voter registration drives. Shanker served more than 20 years as president of the AFT. The Shanker conference center, located on the lower level of the NYSUT headquarters in Latham, features a 150-seat, theatre-style auditorium, several smaller meeting rooms and a business center. The center is also wired for video conferencing. With the needed additional space, NYSUT is now able to hold conferences on-site, including trainings for retirees, teachers, higher education faculty, health care and School-Related Professionals. "Al valued the democratic process above all else," said Eadie Shanker. "He always reminded us that unions play a crucial role in ensuring and defending freedom here and abroad. You do Al proud by designating this facility, in his name, to that great task." "When future union leaders or staff are trained, when we come together to celebrate the governance and democracy of our union, it will be in these halls surrounded by Al's legacy," said Hobart. - Clarisse Butler |
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