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Celebrating excellence among our members A fitting legacy for Sandy Feldman
May 25, 2006
The award that recognizes the contributions of outstanding NYSUT female activists has been renamed for the late president of the American Federation of Teachers. "Not for Ourselves Alone:" The Sandy Feldman Outstanding Leadership Award commemorates the AFT leader who died in 2005 after a long and valiant fight against breast cancer. Delegates to the RA unanimously passed a special order of business to honor Feldman's years of service not only with AFT but as president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City and as a member of New York State United Teachers' Board of Directors. The special order noted Feldman dedicated herself to raising student achievement and ensuring students are challenged by rigorous curriculum with all the resources they need to succeed. "Sandy Feldman will be remembered by all her sisters and brothers in the labor movement as a strong leader, a forceful advocate, a tireless worker and a loyal friend," the resolution said. At a memorial tribute shortly after her Sept. 18 death, Feldman was eulogized by former President Bill Clinton, who said her life was "a stunning triumph." In addition to the resolution, the union paid tribute to Feldman at the RA with a video that recalled her civil rights advocacy and lifelong fight to improve public schools for all children. This year's two award winners, Ray Frankel and Josephine Sano, (see articles below) told delegates the award means even more now that it has been renamed in honor of Feldman. "Not for Ourselves Alone" Outstanding Leadership Awardees
The story of a pragmatic activist When it comes to unionism, Ray Frankel is pragmatic. "Political action is a fact of life; without it, it's not easy to achieve any gains, economically, socially or politically," said the United Federation of Teachers retiree. Frankel is one of two New York State United Teachers members selected to receive "Not for Ourselves Alone:" The Sandy Feldman Outstanding Leadership Award. From the start, Frankel lived by those words, raised in a household where her parents, of czarist Russian descent, were deeply involved in early efforts to organize and unionize garment workers. Joining the Teachers Guild, then the official New York City local of the American Federation of Teachers, seemed a natural progression when Ray became a social studies teacher in the mid-1950s. During her in-service career, Frankel wore a number of union hats, including chapter leader, UFT Executive Board and NYSUT Board member and chairwoman of the UFT QuEST Committee, a forerunner of the local's teachers center program. She was appointed to the post by the legendary UFT President Al Shanker. "My union activities made my teaching a more meaningful experience," said Frankel. She taught at Charles Evans Hughes HS and the High School of Art and Design, where she was a UFT chapter leader. Receiving an award named in Sandy Feldman's memory makes the honor especially meaningful, said Frankel. "I identified with Sandy," she said. "We had the same political agenda." "For 50 years, Ray has been a guiding light to both the UFT and NYSUT," said Vice President Maria Neira. "She is an inspiration to us all." Ray Frankel
Daring to live like a tiger For Josephine Sano, serving as the first female president of the Central Labor Council of Albany is a point of pride. Sano was past president of the Albany Public School Teachers Association and a recipient of the 2006 "Not for Ourselves Alone:" The Sandy Feldman Outstanding Leadership Award. Sano likes to remind those new to teaching that the benefits they enjoy were won after a struggle. "Things like maternity leave and tenure are not birthrights, but hard-fought gains," said Sano. A key player in the labor movement for 64 years, Sano has had a guiding hand in many state labor issues. She recalls early days with the APSTA in the late 1960s, when she began teaching. "In those days if you wanted to be an administrator, you became a union leader," said Sano, who termed the early organization an "afternoon tea society." That all changed in the 1973 merger of the New York State Teachers Association (Sano was a delegate to the last NYSTA convention) and the United Teachers of New York, which created NYSUT. "Those were exciting times. NYSUT got rights for teachers," Sano recalled. "Josephine's service is an example of walking the walk," said Maria Neira, vice president of New York State United Teachers. Sano's union legacy includes being the original Capital District VOTE-COPE coordinator, participating in NYSUT's first Committee of 100 lobbying effort and serving as a longtime NYSUT and AFT delegate. "Dare to live one week as a tiger rather than 50 years as a chicken," Sano said in accepting her award at the RA. "I am proud to be associated with Sandy Feldman's strength and compassion." Quipped the petite Sano, "You've made me feel 10 feet tall." Josephine Sano Health Care Professionals Member of the Year
Advocacy is the best medicine Ann O'Hara has worked as a nurse in coronary care, in the emergency room, in the intensive care unit and as a clinical instructor. She has devoted the last decade of her career to working with children in schools. Here, O'Hara said she finds the rewards of education, treatment and prevention. O'Hara, who works at a school-based health clinic at Weeks Elementary School in Syracuse, was honored at the RA as NYSUT's Health Care Professionals Member of the Year. The award encompasses her work as a school nurse with the Syracuse Teachers Association, her dedication to professional development and her concern for the larger issues of health care evidenced in her efforts as a member of the Health Care Professionals Council. She has also served the union on different teams and committees within her local. O'Hara has continued advanced training to widen and improve her own areas of expertise in areas such as pediatrics, coronary care and addiction. Her work on the council has included helping to design license renewal courses for other NYSUT health care professionals, dealing with pertinent issues like infection control, and helping to fashion the NYSUT school nutrition and exercise program, 24/7 Let's Go! She has also participated in the American Federation of Teachers' School Nurse Leadership Confe-rences. School nurses work with teachers, families and students to help children succeed, O'Hara said in accepting her award at the RA. The jobs are demanding and constantly increasing in scope, with more medically fragile students in school and a rise in conditions like asthma, diabetes and obesity. Often, the jobs increase in scope due to the size of the population being served. Some nurses single-handedly serve 1,300 students, said O'Hara, who has helped the union advocate for legislation requiring a school nurse in every building. And for some of those students, school is the healthiest place they can be, she said. "Hopefully, one day we shall overcome some of these issues," she told delegates. "It's so important that you keep reaching out to health care workers," O'Hara implored delegates. "Thank you for helping us protect our boundaries as consumers of health care and those who deliver it." New York State Teacher of the Year
LI teacher hits all the right notes He has a rock-star-sounding name. During his address to delegates at the RA, New York State Teacher of the Year Steve Bongiovi received a celebrity reception. Bongiovi, who has spent 34 years teaching English at Seaford High on Long Island, was introduced by NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira as "an inspiration to everyone in Seaford." A short video on Bongiovi's teaching career and philosophy was shown to RA delegates before the veteran educator took the stage. "It might not make TV, but it just became my favorite Bongiovi video," he quipped, referring to rock singer Jon Bon Jovi. Bongiovi praised his fellow teachers, including United Teachers of Seaford President Lori Fritsch and Vice President Dan Hayden. Hayden, a former Bongiovi student, was the person who encouraged him to apply for teacher of the year. Bongiovi has been an active unionist, serving on the UTS professional development committee, which he says improved his self- confidence as a teacher. He was brought to the stage minutes after delegates unanimously approved unification between New York State United Teachers and the National Education Association of New York. Bongiovi said he was touched that the first activity of a unified NYSUT and NEA/NY was to honor a teacher. Bongiovi called teachers the "800 percent solution," pointing out that studies have shown that teachers — by an 8-to-1 ratio — have more of an impact on creating successful schools than any other factor. "Teaching always matters and that means teachers will always matter," Bongiovi said. Retiree Members of the Year
Whatever the union needed, she did This year, Farmingdale Federation of Teachers Retiree Chapter President Margarita Duncan Tomko celebrates two 15-year anniversaries. In 1991, she retired from Weldon E. Howitt Junior High after a 35-year career teaching Spanish and English in the Long Island district. That same year, NYSUT welcomed retirees into its membership, forming retiree councils and encouraging retirees whose locals did not have retiree chapters to organize them. "I had given little thought to continuing my union activism into retirement, but I helped organize my retiree council," said Tomko. "It's like Al Shanker once said: Retirees are the daytime union." As president, she built a strong relationship between the in-service and retired members. In 1996, as the district tried to diminish retiree health benefits, Tomko and NYSUT lawyers took the district to court. Ultimately, the board and the FFT agreed to take the issue of reducing retiree benefits out of negotiations entirely in settling a new four-year contract. Born in Chile, Tomko was raised in New York City, attended public schools and went on to Hunter College. In 1959, after teaching in Brooklyn for a few years and starting a family, Tomko took a job in Farmingdale, where she joined the Classroom Teachers Association. She dialed numbers in phone banks and stuffed envelopes for mailings. In 1976, when the federation went on strike, she picketed, distributed literature and wrote letters. She was a building rep from 1985 to 1991. "I'm grateful for all the people who have encouraged me along the way," Tomko said. Margarita Duncan Tomko
He 'wanted to make a difference' For Lionel Knight of the United Federation of Teachers, unionism is a family affair. His mother belonged to the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. His aunt, her twin sister, was a shop steward. His stepfather belonged to the New Amsterdam Musicians' Union in Harlem. "We knew and acknowledged that the 'little man or woman' would be nowhere in our highly competitive and polarized world had it not been for the unions they depended upon to fight for their causes," Knight said. Knight began his working career as a machinist, later taking night classes at Queens College to earn his teaching degree. "I wanted to make a difference in the lives of children," he explained. After entering teaching, Knight returned to his union roots, taking an active role as a delegate in the UFT. The staunch unionist considers NYSUT an important part of an effective workplace. "With NYSUT on your side, most of your problems are finished," said Knight. "Guard your union well." Born in the Dominican Republic, Knight was an infant when he moved to the Virgin Islands, where he graduated from high school in 1940. He left in 1944 to be reunited with his parents in New York City. He began teaching second grade in Brooklyn, then at Jamaica High and Franklin K. Lane High, the latter for 20 years until he retired in 1988 as a teacher of English, assistant dean and a UFT delegate. Knight and his wife of 57 years, Edris, have four children and six grandchildren. As to his NYSUT Retiree Member of the Year award, he said, "I am still floating on a cloud of unbelief over my selection from among so many other deserving colleagues and union siblings." Lionel Knight School-Related Professionals Member of the Year
Longtime SRP activist honored The resounding message Maria Portalatin wants to deliver to School-Related Professionals: Organize. Organize. Organize. "I've learned that the union card and the ballot box had to play a major role in my life and in the lives of other paraprofessionals," Portalatin said in a prepared statement read at the convention by NYSUT Board member Shelvy Young Abrams. Illness may have kept Portalatin from attending the RA, but the outspoken SRP activist made sure her acceptance speech went as planned — she was listening in from her Staten Island home as a cell phone was held aloft during the award presentation. Portalatin was one of the first paraprofessionals hired in New York City schools under an anti-poverty program. "It was an experimental program to help poor people make a contribution to their community," Portalatin said. The program offered tuition-free college courses but was jeopardized almost as soon as it began. "We learned rather quickly that if the program was to survive we needed to organize — and to organize effectively." The paras joined the United Federation of Teachers, with Portalatin as chair, and soon won a contract that included salary increases and a career ladder program open to every para. "Maria became a mainstay at the UFT because of her sense of commitment to the labor movement," said Abrams, who accepted the NYSUT award on Portalatin's behalf. "Whether it was rallying the troops for a great demonstration at city hall, fighting for collective bargaining sessions or championing the rights of labor ... Maria was always fully involved." NYSUT Vice President Kathleen Donahue noted Portalatin's strong belief in activism and involvement. Portalatin had a message for new and future SRPs. "Don't allow others to dictate your future. There will be times when the road will become difficult. Don't give up. Just tell yourself: 'Yes I can, Yes I will make a difference.'" Maria Portalatin Higher Education Members of the Year
An expert in activism and sociology Privatization. Outsourcing. Labor laws becoming anti-labor. Media taking sides with employers and big bosses, rather than workers. These are just some of the problems drawing heat from John Hyland and labor activists like him. A retiring LaGuardia Community College faculty member and staunch unionist, Hyland has been named Higher Education Member of the Year by NYSUT. Even before the end of his last semester, he's already stepped into a new role as president of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition board. "In the labor movement, what we've been doing is so good, necessary and vital," Hyland said in accepting his award at the union's Representative Assembly. "But it's not sufficient; it's not enough. I think what we need is a new level of defiance. We need a breakthrough." Likening today's political situation to the early labor movement, women's suffrage and Nelson Mandela taking on apartheid, Hyland said there is much cause for concern over workers' rights. His call to action was hallmark Hyland. As a professor of sociology, he has also been a longtime community and union activist. Hyland has served as treasurer of the Professional Staff Congress, the union representing professional faculty and staff at the City University of New York. His union beginnings came in serving as a chapter chair. Hyland's scholarly work has included taking on issues affecting community colleges as social institutions; class issues; and the lives and movement of working people. He has also spent time with the welfare rights movement, organizing among welfare recipients in one of New York's poorest communities. John Hyland
Taking charge in community, union If ever there is a struggling committee in need of assistance, you can count on Phillip Smith to be there. A faculty member at State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, he has devoted himself not only to teaching, but to bettering working conditions through union activism and helping his community through volunteer work. Honored by New York State United Teachers as Higher Education Member of the Year, Smith has loaned his time, expertise and concern to committees on health science, grievance, Web site, technology and joint labor/management for United University Professions, the union representing SUNY academic and professional faculty. He served four years as UUP's statewide vice president for academics. As an officer, he did double duty as the union's award-winning Webmaster. Within his community, he has chaired the Parent Teachers Association and Title I advisory board. He's an adult leader in Boy Scouts and a coach and umpire in youth sports. Of all his accomplishments, Smith said upon accepting his award, "teacher" is his favorite word to describe who he is. "Teaching is what it's all about," said Smith, who has taught junior and senior high school, graduate school, and now, medical education. Smith noted "It's important to be recognized for who you are, even with your mistakes." He also encouraged his colleagues to keep pressing for workers' rights. "When we 'walk the walk,' pounding the halls of the Legislature, the pavement or the picket line, it sometimes feels like we're the world's oldest profession, we walk so much," Smith joked. Phillip Smith
Editors help light the way to solidarity This year's "Meet the Editors" Roundtable and Journalism Awards dinner was a toast to union scribes across the state, from editors in small, rural locals to retirees keeping former colleagues informed and entertained. The Ted Bleecker Award for the "Best of the Best" went to NORTA News, published by the North Rockland TA in Rockland County. This prestigious award is named for the founding editor of New York Teacher. "North Rockland's newsletter consistently reflects a committed local led by dedicated leaders and editors," said Lance Howland, editor of New York Teacher, hosting the event on behalf of NYSUT. The president of the North Rockland TA is Robin Brennan; the editor and designer of the award-winning publication is Lauren Isaacs Schimko. Judges said the publication won for qualities such as a "strong president's message," "a commanding front page," a "right-from-the-gut" editorial, a "colorful" profile feature story, new-member outreach and varied coverage. The Solidarity Award went to The STAtement, newsletter of the Sayville TA from Long Island. This award honors publications that provide coverage of intraunion issues. "The award-winning Sayville column was moving in telling a story about what it means to be a unionist," Howland said. Tim Southerton, local president, wrote about how he and his wife, Kathy, a member of United University Professions, were scheduled to check in to a hotel, when they found workers picketing out front. Although it was a cold and snowy holiday night, the couple headed out to another hotel. In attendance at the dinner were NYSUT officers, including President Dick Iannuzzi, himself a former award-winning columnist for the Central Islip TA newsletter, CITAtion. "If you have a message, we need to get it out," Iannuzzi told award winners. "You are the people who do that." There were more retiree entries than ever this year, including some from locals that had never entered before. A complete list of winners will appear on the NYSUT Web site, www.nysut.org. |
ALSO SEE
NYSUT MEMBER AWARD WINNERS
"Not for Ourselves Alone" Outstanding Leadership Awardees Health Care Professional of the Year New York State Teacherl of the Year School-Related Professionals Member of the Year Higher Education Members of the Year Journalism Awards
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