Carol Slotkin
Western Sullivan United Teachers and SRPs
Recently, social studies teacher Carol Slotkin marked two important anniversaries. 2004 was her 35th year teaching and the 20th year since she led 57 of her colleagues out on strike to protect their contract. Slotkin learned the importance of a strong union in 1969, her first year teaching in rural Sullivan County during a turbulent cultural and political era.
"As a non-tenured teacher, I saw how political things could get," she said. "You really have to have a good union to protect your rights."
Slotkin, who recalls walking picket lines as a child with her father in New York City, became active in her union as soon as she started her career. At her first union meeting, she was selected as a delegate to the Sullivan County Teachers Council, and has been at the forefront of the labor movement in the county for the past 35 years.
A member of the NYSUT Executive Committee since 2000 and a member of the Board of Directors since 1980, Slotkin was instrumental in the formation of the NYSUT Women's History Committee. She chaired the committee in 2002 and 2003.
Slotkin was the first female president of her local union, then the Jeffersonville-Youngsville Faculty Association. She organized a chapter for School-Related Professionals and oversaw the merger that produced the Western Sullivan United Teachers and SRPs.