Sandra Feldman

Sandra Feldman, who died yesterday at age 65 of breast cancer, is someone we didn’t always agree with but who nevertheless lived the sort of upwardly mobile life that makes New York a wonderful place. Born into a poor family in Coney Island, she went to public schools all the way through Brooklyn College and became a teacher before working her way up through the United Federation of Teachers and then the American Federation of Teachers to become their presidents. In those capacities, she was one of the most powerful political operators in New York City and a national figure in the labor movement and on education policy, meeting not only with mayors of New York but with four presidents of America. When she retired as president of the American Federation of Teachers in 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on a voice vote honoring her for “her outstanding contributions and leadership in improving the quality of teaching and learning.”