From the 1960s until his death in 1997, Albert Shanker was a major force in expanding the labor movement, defending and improving public education, and fighting for all people to live freely in democracies. As president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), he became known internationally as an education statesman devoted to making all public schools excellent and as a fierce labor leader determined to ensure that working people had a voice and dignity on the job. The AFT established the Albert Shanker Institute in 1998 to carry on his intellectual tradition of being open to--and debating--any idea that might enrich the lives of working people and their families. In 2021, executive director Leo Casey handed the reins of the Albert Shanker Institute to Mary Cathryn D. Ricker, and that seemed like a perfect time to reflect on the institute's past and present. This article is a conversation between Casey and Ricker on Albert Shanker's legacy and how the institute can ensure that public education, unionism, and democracy are mutually reinforcing.