A committed 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 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 and civil rights activist, 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 the 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,” says 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.”

When Feldman was elected AFT president in 1997 after the death of Albert Shanker, she became the first woman to lead the union since the 1930s. A strong and growing professional union movement will be part of the Feldman legacy. During her tenure as president, the AFT passed the 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.”

“She was a champion not only for the workers in education but also in healthcare. She was an amazing and inspirational role model for generations of union women,” says Candice Owley, chair of AFT Healthcare’s program and policy council.

The former AFT president is 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, praises Feldman’s “commitment and optimism,” her belief in public service and “her love for the UFT and AFT.”

Feldman was born in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn and educated in New York City’s public schools. Her 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 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. 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.