AFT Vice President
Pat Santeramo has served Broward (Fla.) Teachers Union for many years. He was elected first vice president in 1991, following years of union activism. In 2001, Santeramo was elected president of the BTU. Santeramo represents more 13,000 members of a growing local union (the second largest in Florida) that includes education, charter school and technical support professionals. He was elected to the AFT executive council in 2004.

Santeramo is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston and began his teaching career in New Bedford, Mass. He holds a master's degree from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

Santeramo came to Broward County in 1978 and began teaching elementary band at Walker Elementary. He immediately became active in the union, serving on the organizing and collective bargaining committee and taking part in contract negotiations. After teaching for 17 years, he left the classroom to serve the union full time.

As first vice president, Santeramo represented BTU in a joint labor-management shared decision-making project. He was a member of the district's labor-management committee and has been a member of the bargaining team for many years.

Santeramo sits on the state governance board of the Florida Education Association. He is a member of the FEA government relations committee.

(August 22, 2008)