About Jeanette Pietrantoni

When Jeanette Pietrantoni returned to Syracuse in 1968 after serving in the Peace Corps, a lot had changed. The Taylor Law granting teachers the right to organize and bargain collectively had passed and teachers were forming their own unions separate from administrators. A former high school English teacher, Pietrantoni returned to the classroom and the union, writing a weekly newsletter. Just a month after being elected Syracuse TA president in 1976, Pietrantoni was faced with division in the local when the two state organizations disaffiliated. She went on to serve on the NYSUT Board, as well as NYSUT's Membership Services Committee, now known as the Member Benefits Trust, and computerized the AFT's Defense Committee. Pietrantoni will receive the "Not for Ourselves Alone:" Sandy Feldman Outstanding Leadership award.