Honoring Mary Bergan
Long time CFT President Mary Bergan passed away November 30th, 2023
Mary Bergan
September 13, 1941 – November 30, 2023
Click here to watch the memorial slideshow of Mary Bergan’s family life and career
Mary Astrid Bergan, former president of the California Federation of Teachers died November 30, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, after a long illness. Her career of service stemmed from a Kennedy-era idealism that took her first to the Peace Corps and on to classroom teaching and ultimately an enduring leadership role in education unionism.
In Memoriam: Paul Baltimore and Ken Taira
Unions lose faculty dedicated to part-timer activism
It is vital in what has been the long struggle for part-time equity and social justice that we fully acknowledge those activists who up until their passing, gave their all and inspired many. Two such figures are Paul Baltimore and Ken Taira. Both members were recognized at CFT State Council on September 25.
CFT mourns the passing of three vice presidents
In Memoriam
The CFT mourns the passing of three vice presidents in recent months.
Gemma Abels was an English teacher, former president of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers, and a CFT Vice President. She passed away last fall following a five-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Freeway Flyers: Local action & quick news
Contract gains and remembering Sam Russo
Union mourns the passing of activist Sam Russo
Sam Russo, one of the core group who organized Adjunct Faculty United, AFT Local 6106, died on May 5. He was president of the local for 12 years, and served on the negotiations team for a number of years.
Miles Myers, 1931–2015
Teacher, union activist, author, and former CFT President Miles Myers died December 15, 2015, from complications related to heart disease. Over six decades, Miles devoted his career to improving educational standards and the conditions for teaching and learning in public education.
Raoul Teilhet, 1933–2013
Raoul Teilhet, a Pasadena high school history teacher who believed collective bargaining offered the path to dignity and respect for public school employees before laws existed allowing it, and served as president of the California Federation of Teachers in successful pursuit of that goal, died of complications from Parkinson’s Disease on June 5, 2013, in Los Angeles. He was 79.