The Shanker family's deeply held political views were staunchly pro-union, following the socialism of Norman Thomas and including ardent support of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal.

His idols were Franklin D. Roosevelt, Clarence Darrow, civil rights leader Bayard Rustin and American philosopher Sidney Hook.

In order to earn money while writing his dissertation, Shanker became a substitute mathematics teacher at Public School 179 in East Harlem, a historically working class neighborhood near Columbia's campus.

During the 1960s, Shanker received national attention and considerable criticism for his aggressive union leadership and skillful negotiation of salary increases for New York City teachers.

Accompanied by a small photograph of Shanker, the Times columns, titled "Where We Stand", sought to clarify the union's position on matters of public interest.

[10] When the UFT proposed Lesson Plans on African-American History, “Shanker personally intervened and cut out radical ideas.”[11] His intervention included removal of two chapters on Malcolm X and Fredrick Douglass’s words, “power concedes nothing without a demand.”[12] In 1975, the UFT authorized a five-day strike, leading to allegedly saving New York City from bankruptcy after Shanker asked the Teachers' Retirement System to invest $150 million in municipal bonds.

On September 21, 1981, Shanker had dinner with Leon B. Applewhaite, a personal friend and one of the three members of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA).

Applewhaite was involved in deciding whether to uphold the decertification of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization for the strike they had called in August of that year.

During the dinner, Shanker urged Applewhaite not to decertify the union, an action which plainly violated the prohibition on the ex parte contact contained in the federal Administrative Procedure Act.

He continued to work toward organizing teachers throughout his life and attempted to bridge the AFT with the National Education Association, which he never saw happen.

The first appearance, which those at the Institute could find, was in the Meridian Star newspaper, in an editorial piece dated August 13, 1985, but no source is included in the article.

[21] Similarly, Washington Post fact-checkers concluded that "it’s virtually impossible to prove a negative, but the evidence suggests that the quote didn’t come from Shanker and that someone with an agenda probably twisted his words.