NATHANIEL H. LaCOUR

WHEREAS, Nat LaCour soon will retire as secretary-treasurer of the AFT; and

WHEREAS, for more than 45 years Nat LaCour has been a tireless and effective advocate for quality public schools, for children, and for the rights of teachers, paraprofessionals and all who work in public service; and

WHEREAS, although Nat LaCour’s leadership roles in the labor and civil rights movements are so extensive that no resolution can fully encompass the scope of his accomplishments, they include establishing the United Teachers of New Orleans as the first fully integrated teachers union in the Deep South and obtaining the first collective bargaining agreement ever won by an education union in a Southern “right-to-work” state; and

WHEREAS, Nat LaCour is the ranking member of the AFT’s Executive Council, having first been elected as an AFT vice president in 1972, and having served as the chair of its organizing committee since its inception in 2000 and has served on the AFL-CIO Executive Council since 2004; and

WHEREAS, Nat has devoted his time and his talent to many organizations that support the principles and goals of the AFT, including serving as a founding member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and, over the years, as a member of the board of the Albert Shanker Institute, Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Learning First Alliance, National Democratic Institute and the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund; and

WHEREAS, Nat’s work and leadership in the field of civil rights and equal opportunity for all Americans bring pride to members of the AFT and honor to the American labor movement; and

WHEREAS, Nat’s work in the political arena for the issues and movements he has so ably led and supported has advanced the cause of justice, fairness and equal rights in our country:

RESOLVED, that this American Federation of Teachers convention honor the leadership and commitment of Nat LaCour, one of the most distinguished and effective leaders in the history of our union; and

RESOLVED, that this convention name Nat LaCour secretary-treasurer emeritus of the union, allowing the union to continue to call on his wisdom and talents as we strive to move our country closer to the ideals and dreams to which Nat’s work and career give witness. (2008)