President of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Tarka also serves as Executive Vice-President of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and chairman of the AFT's K-12 Program & Policy Council. He received a bachelor's degree in English, St. Vincent College; master's degree in teaching, University of Pittsburgh. Tarka was named Allegheny County Labor Council's 2009 Labor Man of the Year. The award recognizes his work on behalf of the city's teachers, students, families and other members of the labor community.