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Ivan Tiger, a veteran activist and a highly respected English teacher at Julia Richman High School in Manhattan for nearly all his teaching career, was elected New York State United Teachers secretary-treasurer at the 2000 Representative Assembly. Tiger served his community and his union for three decades as a leader of NYSUT’s largest local affiliate, the United Federation of Teachers. In addition to serving on the UFT’s negotiating team and executive board -- and as a District 2 representative -- since the 1970s, Tiger has been a staunch advocate for New York City’s schoolchildren. He has served on numerous committees and task forces that sought to improve public education and enrich the lives of students and his community. He chaired a special effort to deliver educational services to homeless schoolchildren in New York City, and has also worked with the UFT’s Asian Heritage Committee and on numerous panels exploring education issues for the American Federation of Teachers, NYSUT’s national affiliate. A native of New York City and a graduate of Stuyvesant High School, Tiger became active in the UFT as a young teacher, and participated in his union’s strikes for better pay and working conditions during the early 1960s. He took on his first formal union role in 1962 when, during a UFT walkout, his chapter leader recruited him to help organize picket sites. Tiger quickly rose through the UFT’s ranks, winning election as the union’s District 2 representative in Manhattan and for three decades, helping to shape the union's policies on a range of educational and political issues. In his UFT position, Tiger also worked to win legislative approval for numerous reforms that would help teachers and their students meet higher standards. Tiger has served on the NYSUT Board of Directors since 1993. A self-described “political animal,” he was also elevated to the UFT’s executive board and served 25 years on its negotiating committee. Tiger has also been active in NYSUT’s voluntary grassroots political action effort — VOTE-COPE — through the UFT’s Committee on Political Education. Tiger was elected AFT vice president in 2004 and Jewish Labor Committee vice president in 2003. Tiger is a graduate of City University of New York, where he earned his master’s degree. He and his wife, Melinda, have four grown children — all graduates of the State University of New York. April 2006 |
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