Kugler, Israel, 1917-2007

Israel Kugler was a noted advocate for and leader of academic unionism, professor of sociology, labor arbitrator, democratic socialist activist and devotee of Yiddish culture. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he received his bachelor’s degree from City College in 1938. He married Helen Barkan in 1941 and they were to have two sons, Daniel and Philip. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from New York University in 1954, writing a dissertation on the relationship between the mid-nineteenth century women’s suffrage movement and the National Labor Union. In 1947 he was appointed a faculty member in social science at New York City Community College (now New York City College of Technology), where he taught until 1980.

Kugler was a key figure in the United Federation of College Teachers (UFCT), which originated as a section of the Teachers Guild and later the United Federation of Teachers and became Local 1460 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The UFCT represented faculty and professional staff in both public and private institutions of higher education. Kugler had served as vice-president of the Guild/UFT section from 1954 and became president of the UFCT in 1963. Within a few years Kugler had led successful organizing organizing campaigns at Fashion Institute of technology, Long Island University, Pratt Institute and several other campuses.

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