St.TFT/SE president is one of 39 national Federation vice presidents
This has been a banner year for St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees President Elsie Burkhalter of Slidell.
On July 14, she was elected by the convention of the American Federation of Teachers as one of 39 vice presidents of the 1.4 million member union. Burkhalter was one of 10 newcomers to join the AFT's governing body.
Last January, Burkhalter was elected chair of the University of Louisiana. She is the first woman and first African-American to hold that position. She had served as vice-chair of the college board for the previous two years.
Burkhalter has served as president of the St. Tammany Federation since its inception in the late 1970s. Under her leadership, collective bargaining partnerships have been established for all non-administrative employees of the St. Tammany school system.
Burkhalter is married to Jesse Phillips. Her son Kevin is a member of the St. Tammany Parish Council. She has two daughters, Charlene and Bianca, and one granddaughter, Marianna.
This summer’s AFT convention also witnessed the retirement of Louisianan Nat LaCour as AFT Secretary-Treasurer.
