George Altomare, a founder of the UFT who led with insight, devotion and a great deal of heart, died on Aug. 20 at age 92 after a long illness. He loved teaching and dedicated his life to improving public school education for New York City students and educators through the power of unionism.

“He was our historian, our elder statesman and our union troubadour,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “At union meetings over the decades, we could count on George to pull out his guitar and lead us in singing ‘Solidarity Forever.’”

Altomare began his teaching career in 1953 as a social studies teacher at Astoria JHS. He went on to teach high school for many years. Frustrated by the poor pay and abysmal working conditions at Astoria JHS, Altomare and his school colleague Albert Shanker invited the Teachers Guild to meet with the educators.

It was a challenge to organize teachers, since many thought of themselves as professionals and felt that “labor was beneath their dignity,” said retired member John Soldini, the former UFT vice president for academic high schools.

Altomare, as a secondary school teacher, was able to recruit high school teachers, who were better paid at that time, into the elementary school-dominated Teachers Guild to create the UFT in 1960.

“His ability to get people to work with each other, for each other and in order to gain the same goals was great. His energy was great, too — he devoted all his after-school time to this,” said former union treasurer Mel Aaronson, also a UFT founder. “Without George, there would be no UFT.”

Described as an early “organizing genius,” Altomare held both advisory and elected positions for the union over the decades. He created and headed the UFT Strike Committee and Organizing Network, which led to successful strikes in the 1960s and ’70s. He served as the union’s vice president for academic high schools for 25 years, and he helped negotiate DOE-UFT contracts through 1985.

Altomare also worked extensively to support other unions. In the 1960s, he went to jail for civil disobedience with United Farm Workers leaders César Chávez and Dolores Huerta after a union protest.

“George was there in the beginning and was active up until the very end, so this union is forever in his debt,” said UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr. “He not only connected union activists to the UFT but to the union movement.”

Altomare helped found the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter and served for many years as the chapter’s secretary. He also helped create the union’s professional committees, which he led until 2019.

Liza Miller Davis was one of Altomare’s students at Stuyvesant HS, where he last taught. “His enthusiasm and love of all people made him a great teacher,” she said.

Altomare is survived by his longtime partner, Vera Campbell.

The UFT is planning a memorial service for Altomare this fall.

Read the full tribute on the UFT Honors site.