Abe Levine, standing before a microphone, articulating his views, is a familiar sight for many New York State United Teachers' members. A backbone of the union since joining as a new teacher in the early 1950s, Levine has long been admired as a speaker. He attributes his skills to 12 years (1967-1979) as the United Federation of Teachers' sole representative to the New York City Board of Education.

"It was a time of strained relations between the two groups - the UFT had a 14-day strike in 1967 and a three-month strike in 1968, and there was a lot of antagonism against the UFT," he said. "Sometimes chairs were thrown during meetings ... people would curse at me.

"I learned to debate at those meetings ... I never let anyone get away with saying anything without responding to them," he said. "You had to think on your feet. It was good grounding for me."

That same quiet determination has made Levine a tenacious advocate for teachers, retirees and the union cause. "I have always felt that workers should belong to a union," he explained.

Levine joined the Teachers' Guild, a predecessor of the UFT, after entering the teaching field in 1951. He remembers feeling out of place among the organization's dynamic and knowledgeable leaders, including Guild President Charles Cogen and a young Al Shanker.

Levine helped to create "the network" in the mid-1950s, a forerunner of the UFT's district representative system; chaired the Guild's Elementary School Committee for nearly 40 years; became the UFT's vice president for elementary schools in 1960; and became assistant to the UFT president under Al Shanker in 1967. He was both assistant to the president and vice president for elementary schools until his retirement in 1993. He is now an American Federation of Teachers and NYSUT convention delegate - a familiar sight at the microphone - and vice chairman of the Retired Teachers chapter of the UFT.

The modest Levine admits he is uncomfortable being named retiree of the year. "I feel that the 45,000 UFT retirees should get an award for serving in the New York City school system," he said. "I'm really accepting the award on behalf of them."

- Kara E. Smith