UFT members showed up in force for Teacher Union Day on Nov. 6 to recognize their colleagues' dedication to the union and to unite in solidarity to face the battles ahead.

Shelvy Young-Abrams, who recently retired as the leader of the Paraprofessionals Chapter, received the Charles Cogen Award, the union's highest honor, in recognition of her 53 years of service to the union dating back to the founding of her chapter in 1969.

At the forefront of one of today's battles is UFT Welfare Fund Executive Director Geof Sorkin, the winner of the Jules Kolodny Award for outstanding leadership and commitment to the union movement, who is leading the fight to maintain quality, premium-free health insurance as health care costs continue to skyrocket.

"Every single day, we've been fighting in the trenches together to preserve robust, premium-free health care," said Sorkin, who dedicated the award to his recently deceased father, Glen Sorkin, a retired UFT teacher and chapter leader. "Our fight isn't over. We need all of you to be activated with us. I can't think of a more important battle."

Young-Abrams and Sorkin were among the day's more than 150 award winners at a ceremony at the New York Hilton Midtown attended by more than 1,000 UFT members, friends and family members.

On the first Sunday of every November, the UFT honors members who carry on the legacy of the union's founders, whose 1960 strike led to collective bargaining rights for the union.

"Today is about the people who dedicated their lives to serving the children, to serving the patients, to serving this city in every community," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said. "We do it with pride, and we do it with great challenges always before us, each and every day."

Five in-service members and one retiree received Marsh/Raimo Awards for their political activism. They worked on UFT campaigns to reduce class size and reverse school budget cuts, lobbied elected officials, interviewed candidates for prospective union endorsement and much more.

The late Joyce Magnus of the Retired Teachers Chapter received a posthumous award for her tireless work organizing her "posse" of retirees to assist with the UFT's political causes. She learned before she died in October that she was receiving the award and was delighted, RTC Chapter Leader Tom Murphy said.

The Backer/Scheintaub Award recognizing potential new teacher union leaders was presented to Terrain Chambers Reeves, the chapter leader at Edward R. Murrow HS in Brooklyn.

The Audrey Chasen Award, in memory of a teacher who was killed in the crossfire of a street shootout in 1992, went to Dan Wever, a teacher at Sunset Park HS in Brooklyn who helped keep students safe and calm following a mass shooting at a subway station near the school in April.

The David Wittes Award for outstanding dedication to the ideals of the union was given to Patricia Mezzacappa, the chapter leader at IS 61 on Staten Island.

The Sidney Harris Award, given to an outstanding leader in the area of special education, went to Lorraine O'Shea, a special education teacher and the chapter leader at PS 168 in the Bronx.

Eighty-one chapter leaders received Ely Trachtenberg Awards for their outstanding work as chapter leaders. Ten UFT members received Albert Lee Smallheiser Awards for helping improve working conditions for colleagues.

The UFT paid special tribute to Ethan Holder, a 19-year-old paraprofessional who was shot and killed on Oct. 11 outside P 771 at PS 203 in Flatlands, Brooklyn, where he had worked for just three weeks.

"While we are still very much saddened by his death, we will celebrate keeping his name alive because who are we?" Brooklyn UFT School Safety Liaison and Victim Support Program Coordinator Katrina Foye asked, prompting the audience to shout back, "UFT!"

Holder was granted UFT membership posthumously. Brooklyn Borough Representative Elizabeth Perez presented his parents, Roy Holder and UFT member Beverly John-Holder, with an AFT Special Recognition Award in appreciation of their son's work as an educator and announced the AFT would be creating a scholarship in his name.

State Teacher of the Year Billy Green was a featured guest at the ceremony. Green called on his fellow educators to continue to focus on providing "positive, equitable and empowering spaces and experiences" for students.

"Our job is to learn through our students and show them how education can act as a vehicle to expand their interests and communities," Green said. "Our goal is to make our students seen, heard and cared for."