Pat Tornillo

Pat Tornillo, former president of United Teachers of Dade and champion of public education and public school employees, died Sunday, June 24, 2007. He was 81. Tornillo suffered from lung and heart disease, prostate cancer and diabetes.

Tornillo will be remembered for his progressive actions and his tenacity. That led to the merger of the black/white teacher unions' into one, improving teacher compensation following the 1968 teacher walkout that led to the establishment of collective bargaining in Florida.

Shortly before his death, he sat down with FEA to reflect. The following is a clip from that interview:

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[janestern]

In the late 1960's, Pat Tornillo led the move to have the NEA affiliate in Dade County disaffiliate from the National Education Association. I have always wondered if that move was part of a plan to loot the organization, something which would have been far more difficult had the union been subject to the NEA's oversight.

[tornielliforos]

The 2007 conviction?

[hialeahdude]

Very touching. I never met Pat Tornillo personally but I attended as many Union meetings as I could while he was president of UTD. One simple question: Didn't this video leave out a VERY IMPORTANT detail?