NYSUT President's Office Photographs, 1986
Collection Number: 6174/001 P

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) was created in 1972 by the merger of the New York State Teachers Association (NYSTA) and the United Teachers of New York (UTNY). NYSTA had been affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), and UTNY with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). UTNY was the statewide organization whose United Federation of Teachers (UFT), led by Albert Shanker, was the predominant teachers' union in New York City. In joining with United Teachers and affiliating with the AFT, NYSUT also became a member union of the AFL-CIO.

In 1976, NYSUT voted to disaffiliate with the NEA. Some locals left NYSUT and created the NYEA (New York Educators Association), which became the state affiliate for the NEA. In the early 1980s, NYEA changed its name to NEA-NY.

NYEA/NEA- NY viewed association with the AFL-CIO's industrial unions as undermining the professional image and independence of teachers. The two organizations also differed strongly on aspects of the governance structure, particularly with respect to ethnic minority representation, with NYSUT opposed to mandatory minimums. The rivalry between NYSUT and NYEA/NEA-NY in organizing new locals expended a great deal of resources for both labor organizations.

While competition with NYEA/NEA-NY was a constant focus of NYSUT's organizing efforts for teachers, NYSUT was also organizing college faculty members, nurses, and other non-teaching personnel. Once members were organized, NYSUT continued to advocate for teachers' and other workers' rights through contract support and legal services at the local level and political involvement at the state and federal levels, supporting candidates and legislation that protected funding, due process, and working conditions.

NEA-N Y merged with NYSUT in 2006, by which time NYSUT had grown to more than half a million members, becoming the largest union in New York State.

Thomas Y. Hobart, Jr., served as President of NYSUT since it was created in 1973 from the merger of NYSTA (New York State Teacher's Association, founded in 1845 and the largest state affiliate of the National Education Association) and UTNY (United Teachers of New York, affiliated with American Federation of Teachers-AFL-CIO). Hobart was a prime mover in the disaffiliation of NYSUT from the NEA, and reaffirmation of affiliation with the AFT, in 1976. He was involved in jurisdictional disputes that followed the split for many years, as NYSUT and NEA (through its affiliate, New York Educators Association) fought for membership at the local level; the rivalry was finally resolved when the two again merged in 2006, still maintaining strong ties with the AFT.

The president serves as a vice president of the AFT and vice president of New York State AFL-CIO and represents NYSUT in high-level interactions with state elected and appointed officials, particularly the Department of Education; international labor organizations; political parties; nonprofit service organizations such as the New York Special Olympics; and other unions. The president or his assistant has often visited regional offices to maintain firsthand contact with local concerns.

Hobart retired in 2005 and was succeeded by NYSUT's current president, Richard Ianuzzi.

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NYSUT President's Office Photographs #6174/001 P. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Collections: 6174/017 MB: NYSUT General Officers Memorabilia 6174: NYSUT Records 6174 AV: NYSUT Audio-Visual Materials 6174 MB: NYSUT Memorabilia 6174 OH: NYSUT Oral History Interviews 6174 P: NYSUT Photographs 6174 PUBS: NYSUT Publications 6174/001: NYSUT President's Office Files 6174/002: NYSUT Vice President's Office files 6174/003: NYSUT Division of Research and Educational Services. Files 6174/004: NYSUT Field Services Department Files 6174/004 AV: NYSUT Field Services Department Audio-Visual Material 6174/005: NYSUT Legislative Department Files 6174/006: NYSUT Public Relations Department Files 6174/007: NYSUT New York Special Task Force on Equity and Excellence in Education Files 6174/008: NYSUT Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Files 6174/009: NYSUT Teacher Education Conference Board Files 6174/010: NYSUT Convention files 6174/011: NYSUT Mid-Hudson Regional Office Files 6174/012: NYSUT "Teachers United: The Rise of NYSUT" Research Notes 6174/013 AV: NYSUT Representative Assembly (RA) Audio-Visual materials 6174/014: NYSUT Alan Lubin Files 6174/015: NYSUT Boards of Directors Meetings 6174/016: NYSUT Vice-President's Office Maria Neira. Files 6174/017: NYSUT General Officers Records 6174/017 AV: NYSUT General Officers Audio-Visual Materials 6174/017 P: NYSUT General Officers Photographs 6174/018: NYSUT Division of Research and Educational Services, Maria Neira Files 6174/019: NYSUT Biography File