Treasurer

Melvyn Aaronson is treasurer of the UFT. He has been actively involved in union affairs for more than 50 years, working with Al Shanker as one of the leaders of the strike in 1960 that established the UFT. Mel received his bachelor’s degree from Hunter College.

Mel has served as a chapter leader in two large high schools and has been a delegate to American Federation of Teachers and New York State United Teachers conventions. Respected by his colleagues, Mel has received both the UFT Albert Lee Smallheiser and Jules Kolodny awards for his service.

Since 1980, Mel has been a trustee and member of the board of the Teachers’ Retirement System of New York City.

Mel was elected union treasurer in 1998, filling the term of Randi Weingarten when she was elected president, and has been re-elected ever since.

Mel is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on pension matters. He is the first vice president of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. In 1981, Mel was a delegate to the New York and White House Conference on Aging. In 1995, he served as a delegate to the New York and an alternate delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. He was a delegate to the White House Conference on Social Security held in December 1998. He is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Social Insurance, an organization of 750 of the nation’s recognized experts on social insurance issues and programs.

Among his many other activities related to retirement, Mel serves on various AFT and NYSUT committees and he chairs the Pension Committee of the New York City Municipal Labor Committee. In 1999, Gov. George Pataki appointed Mel to the New York State Task Force on Public Employee Pension Systems.

Mel has served for 35 years as a pension consultant for the UFT. He also is chair of the Pension Committee, coordinator of the “Ready-or-Not” pre-retirement preparation program and has served as special representative for the Retired Teachers Chapter of the UFT.