Speaking at the public employees’ divisional meeting, ­McGarvey said that “the AFT has been an essential part of my life since I first became an active member of my union in Butte, Mont., some 40 years ago.”

But as a true trade unionist, it has been McGarvey who has been an essential part of the AFT. It was under McGarvey’s leadership that the Montana Federation of Teachers/AFT expanded its representation to government employees and then merged with the Montana Education Association in 2000 to create the MEA-MFT—the state’s largest union.

“Organizing has to be at the top of our priority list,” ­McGarvey told the audience. “Only through organizing and growth can we achieve the strength and power needed to address the concerns of our public employee members,” including collective bar­gaining.

McGarvey, long-time chair of the division’s program and policy council, was elected to the AFT executive council in 1974. He will continue to or­ganize within the labor movement as ­executive-secretary of the Montana state AFL-CIO.

The contributions of New York State Public Employees Federation leader Roger Benson, who was first elected to the AFT executive council in 1998, were also recognized at the divisional meeting. ­Benson, who served three three-year terms as PEF president, is that local’s longest-serving leader.

Under Benson’s leadership, PEF became the recognized authority on quality government services and accountability. But his legacy will be the member mobilization program, which has made PEF a significant political force in advocating for better working conditions and improved government services.