Body
WHEREAS, President of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Mr. John Tarka, retired on August 31, 2011; and,
WHEREAS, John Tarka began his career in Pittsburgh teaching English and Speech for fifteen years at Westinghouse High School where he also coached football and track; and,
WHEREAS, in 1983, John Tarka was recruited to teach at the Schenley High School Teacher Center where he lead the English Department until he was appointed as a staff representative for AFT Pennsylvania and then became the Executive Director; and,
WHEREAS, in 2005, after serving approximately 30 years on the PFT Executive Board,
Mr. Tarka was unanimously approved by the Executive Board to serve as President and then elected by the membership, where he has increased opportunities for member participation, helped expand the PFT political action committee, the Educational Research and Dissemination program, improvement of the contract ratification and strike authorization process and most recently helped the district secure a 40 million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for Pittsburgh's "Empowering Effective Teachers Project"; and,
WHEREAS, in addition to serving as President of the PFT, he also serves as a national AFT Vice President, AFT PA Executive Vice President, and a Vice President on the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Executive Council; and,
WHEREAS, in these leadership roles, Mr. Tarka represented the organizations in matter concerning educational reform, teacher preparation and certification, in-service training, school safety, student achievement, job creation and protection; and,
WHEREAS, he worked to improve union communications and unity through the PFT's building representatives workshops, through strengthening ties with the labor community and was named Allegheny County Labor Council's 2009 Labor Man of the Year for his work on behalf of the city's teachers, students, families and other members of the labor community; and,
Title
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend Mr. John Tarka for the 43 years of service he gave to the City of Pittsburgh School District; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Saturday, October 15, 2011, to be "John Tarka Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.