AFT mourns loss of Sandra Feldman
'A leader without comparison'

It was the passion she brought to her mission. That’s what remained in the minds of those who knew Sandra Feldman well when they heard that the former AFT president had died Sept. 18 at age 65 following a three-year battle with breast cancer. A lifelong trade unionist, civil rights activist and advocate for strong public schools, Feldman guided the AFT through one of the most challenging periods in its history and proved more than equal to the challenge, thanks in large measure to her burning belief in the union movement and in public education as cornerstones of a fair and just society.

“Sandy’s death is a great loss for the AFT personally and professionally, and for the children of our nation,” said AFT president Edward J. McElroy. “She was a leader without comparison and will be remembered for her vigorous commitment to better the lives of the union members she represented and those they served, especially children. Presidents, members of Congress, educators and business leaders relied on her expertise and ideas to help forge their own opinions on how to help those who needed it most.”

Enduring legacy
When Feldman was elected AFT president in 1997 after the death of Albert Shanker, she became the first female to lead the union since the 1930s. Among her key initiatives as AFT president was a call for universal access to preschool for children, which she championed at the AFT’s QuEST conference in 2001. A year later at the union’s 2002 convention, she outlined the first step toward achieving this, urging Congress to provide funding for a “Kindergarten-Plus” initiative that would help schools offer an extended year of kindergarten for disadvantaged youngsters to help close the achievement gap.

It was an idea that became the model for breakthrough state legislation a year later, when New Mexico became the first state to enact Kindergarten-Plus. Thanks in large measure to Feldman’s advocacy, “New Mexico’s kindergartners have received extra support in literacy and second language acquisition—help that is reaching very low socioeconomic groups,” said Christine Trujillo, president of AFT New Mexico. “The education world has lost a true pioneer in education reform.”

A stronger AFT
A strong and growing professional union movement also will be part of the Feldman legacy. During her tenure as president, the AFT passed the 1 million-member mark and grew by more than 365,000 new members, or 38.6 percent—the largest growth in a seven-year period in the union’s history. It didn’t happen by accident: Under Feldman, the AFT adopted new initiatives to foster a “culture of organizing” within the union. As AFT president, she also served on the AFL-CIO’s executive council, chairing the AFL-CIO’s Committee on Social Policy.

A strong proponent of civic education and democracy in the international arena, Feldman served as a vice president of Education International. She frequently spoke out on human rights issues abroad, condemning terrorism and repression of human and worker rights around the world—from China to Colombia, from the Soviet Union to Sudan.

In 2004, Feldman decided for health reasons not to run for re-election as AFT president and stepped down at the union’s convention. She was named AFT president emeritus and continued to serve on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Child Labor Coalition, the Albert Shanker Institute, Freedom House, the Council on Competitiveness and the International Rescue Committee.

“Those who knew Sandy well knew just how hard she worked and how much she personally sacrificed so others would have social justice and economic opportunity,” said AFT vice president Randi Weingarten, who succeeded Feldman as president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City and considered Feldman her mentor. “She was a giant and will be hugely missed.”

A commitment to social justice
Born in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn and educated in New York City’s public schools, including James Madison High School and Brooklyn College, Feldman’s working-class roots shaped her lifelong commitment to expanding educational opportunity, serving the needs of disadvantaged youngsters and fighting for more resources in urban schools. Her long-standing commitment to social justice dates back to her involvement with Bayard Rustin and the early civil rights movement, both in New York and nationally, when she was arrested during the Freedom Rides and other protests in the 1960s.

A former teacher and UFT chapter leader at P.S. 34 in Manhattan, Feldman rose through the ranks of the union to executive director, a post in which she supervised all aspects of the union’s work. In 1983, she was elected secretary of the UFT, the union’s second-highest office, and was elected president in 1986, succeeding her longtime mentor and friend Albert Shanker.

During her 11 years as UFT president, Feldman forged an image as a tough and frank advocate for New York City’s schools who had no problem going toe to toe with mayors, governors and members of Congress on behalf of the city’s educators and schoolchildren. In addition to being a stalwart fighter for the rights of her members, Feldman pioneered programs such as Dial-a-Teacher and Teacher Centers to help students and educators alike.

The former AFT president was remembered by AFT secretary-treasurer Nat LaCour as an “outstanding” unionist and leader who was “truly respected by all the people she came in contact with, both nationally and internationally.” Union executive vice president Antonia Cortese, who first met Feldman in 1971 during the New York merger of the AFT and NEA, praised Feldman’s “commitment and optimism,” her belief in public service and “her love for the UFT and AFT.”

Feldman is survived by her husband, Arthur Barnes; a brother, Larry Abramowitz of New York City; a sister, Helen Berliner, of Wylie, Texas; two stepchildren and two grandchildren.