The UFT is stronger than ever.

That point was repeated often during the 54th annual Teacher Union Day ceremony, a day that honors those who participated in the first UFT strike on Nov. 7, 1960, and the union stalwarts of today.

“These were the rebels of their time,” said former Assistant Treasurer Mona Romain, the recipient of the Charles Cogen Award, of the UFT’s founders as she addressed the more than 1,200 packed into the Grand Ballroom at the New York Hilton on Nov. 2. “They dared to imagine a union where teachers would speak with one voice 54 years ago. And that’s why we’re here today.”

The award winners on stage weren’t the only exemplars of the union’s continued strong history. There were several videos telling stories of UFT members’ accomplishments shown on large screens, and men and women in the audience whose UFT membership spanned more than 50 and even 60 years were asked to stand and be recognized.

“We honor past leaders who inspire us and celebrate the present leaders who follow in their footsteps,” said Anthony Harmon, the UFT’s director of parent and community outreach and a special assistant to the president, who served as the event’s chair.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew congratulated everyone for having survived the attacks against the union that marked Michael Bloomberg’s 12 years as mayor. “The policies put forth the past two decades were not about helping our children in public school,” he said.

Lillian Kohler, a special representative on Staten Island, made note of that in accepting the Sidney Harris Award.

“Nothing compared to the vicious, despicable attacks of the last few years when public education was in the hands of two Michaels,” Kohler said. “I don’t have to tell you which Michael is the last man standing.”

Ellen Gallin-Procida, the director of the UFT Grievance Department who received the Jules Kolodny Award, said that her earliest lesson on the importance of unions came from her mother.

“She said, ‘Ellen, don’t ever cross a picket line. If someone is willing to stand up for their rights, they are to be respected,’” Gallin-Procida recalled.

But she added that the UFT doesn’t just fight for educators’ rights.

“The union makes sure that our students work in classrooms that are not overcrowded; that ELL students get what they need,” Gallin-Procida said.

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Jonathan Fickies

Debra Penny, who received the David Wittes Award, said that her union education truly began when, after she was elected chapter leader, her very good school’s very competent principal retired. Suddenly, members were being chastised and getting letters in the file despite doing exactly what they had always done.

“I found out that the union is not about protecting bad teachers,” said Penny, the Staten Island borough representative. “The union is about protecting good teachers and the work that they do.”

Farheen Malik, the educational liaison in Brooklyn, brought up the UFT’s current fight in the courts to protect teacher tenure in accepting the Backer/Scheintaub Award.

“As educators we speak up for our students every day,” Malik said. “That would be 100 times more difficult without this union.”

Attendees saw an example of the continuous fight for respect in a video showing Mulgrew, AFT President Randi Weingarten and other educators presenting more than 100,000 petitions to Time magazine protesting its recent teacher-bashing cover.

They also watched a video showing why Cora O’Regan and Kati Tannous were given the Audrey Chasen Award. The two Lutheran Medical Center nurses, who are members of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, spent two weeks in the Philippines in January to help with medical care after the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan.

“They gave up two weeks of vacation time to deal with the elements and uncertainty of going to a country with an unstable government to be on the front lines of caring,” said UFT Vice President Anne Goldman while presenting the award.

Another video showed the spirit of cooperation between teachers and administrators that has led to success for the seven UFT School Partnership Award winners.

The importance of political action was illustrated by the seven winners of the Marsh/Raimo Awards and by the chapter leaders who were recognized with Ely Trachtenberg Awards.

Ten dedicated UFT members and staffers received Albert Lee Smallheiser Awards. Also recognized were 10-, 20- and 30-year chapter leaders, members who advanced to other titles and members of the Success via Apprenticeship Program who have become teachers.

Romain, the winner of the day’s highest honor, evoked her own life trajectory to illustrate the UFT’s significance to its members.

“The union is deep in me,” Romain said. “It took me out of poverty and into the middle class. Charlie Cogen would be very proud that we took time out of our busy lives today to commemorate the union.”