Reminiscing about Abe Levine are (from left) UFT founder and first Vice President for High Schools George Altomare, founding member and former Treasurer Mel Aaronson, Vice President for Elementary Schools Karen Alford, Paraprofessionals Chapter Leader Shelvy Young-Abrams and former Vice President for Elementary Schools Ron Jones.
“It’s still hard for me, whenever I stand up here,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in Shanker Hall at the Sept. 25 celebration of the life of union founder Abe Levine. “I’m always looking to a certain place, and I don’t see him anymore.”
Levine, who died in June at age 89, was a fixture in the UFT: a teacher for 16 years, the vice president for elementary schools for 33 years and an executive board member for nearly 59 years. “And then you hear all the stories” about his generosity, said Mulgrew. “He was clearly special, clearly a gift to all of us, clearly a gift to this union.”
Mulgrew had his own story for the 600-plus people at the gathering: Levine gave him articles and notes when he first became president and then would casually question Mulgrew about them. “He was testing me because he wanted to know if I was the right person to entrust his union to. And that is the passion he had at all times,” Mulgrew said. “I truly believe none of us would be here with the rights and benefits we now have if not for Abe Levine.”
Betty Gottfried (front), the former Adult Education Chapter leader, and others at the memorial react to remarks from the stage.
The celebration featured audio and video clips of Levine talking about the birth of the UFT and how he got involved, along with member tributes to him. A panel moderated by Karen Alford, the current vice president for elementary schools, featured observations about Levine and his legacy from George Altomare, a founder and the first vice president for high schools; Mel Aaronson, a founding member and former treasurer; Shelvy Young-Abrams, the paraprofessionals chapter leader; and Ron Jones, who succeeded Levine as vice president for elementary schools.
Frances Brown, among the first paras to join the union 50 years ago, recalls Levine’s efforts to integrate the UFT. “He made sure African-Americans were exposed to the union,” she said.
Brown became one of the many members under Levine’s watchful eye. “He followed me when I was a paraprofessional in the Bronx, as I went through the career ladder program, all through college and until I became a certified teacher.” Whenever there was a milestone, Brown would get one of Levine’s famous notes.
Marcia Kaplan-Mann has more personal memories. “I’ve known Abe since 1967,” said the retired elementary school teacher. While going through a difficult time, Kaplan-Mann told him, “Abe, I have got to get out of New York.” Levine sent her to Washington, D.C., for a union conference and introduced her to another founding member and longtime officer, Jeannette DiLorenzo, who kept her busy with other union events.
When Kaplan-Mann was later hospitalized, Levine sent roses. “Besides everything Abe did for the union, he was a wonderful person,” she said. “He cared about people.”
Near the end of his life, Mulgrew said, Levine was “happy to sit with children and read books whenever we asked him to.” Zenzile DaBreo can appreciate that. A kindergarten teacher in Brooklyn, DaBreo received the UFT’s Abe Levine Award as a champion of education last spring. She’d never met him.
“It makes me emotional because I embody exactly what he stood for and I didn’t realize it until today,” she said: “Fighting for teachers, helping teachers find their way, and advocating not just for the children but for myself and my colleagues.”