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California Federation of Teachers Collection
URB.CFT
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: California Federation of Teachers Collection
Creator:
California Federation of Teachers
Identifier/Call Number: URB.CFT
Extent:
35.93 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1941-1986
Abstract: The
California
Federation of Teachers Collection
includes the papers former CFT officials Raoul
Teilhet, Regional Director, CFT Southern Section; Ben Rust, CFT President 1951-1957; and
Ralph Schloming, CFT Executive Secretary 1959-1965. The collection consists primarily of
administrative and organizational records that document the activities of the union from
1941 to 1986, as well as major legislative issues and general subject matters affecting
education.
Language of Material: English
The California Federation of Teachers (CFT) is one of the largest affiliates of the
American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of two major national organizations for the
classroom teacher. Effective lobbying efforts in the state capital have made the CFT an
important factor in the passage of many educational reform measures as initiatives. The
roots of the organization reach back to 1919 when it was founded as the California State
Federation of Teachers (CSFT). Its initial purpose was to unify the various educational
union locals under AFT aegis to represent teacher interests within local school districts
and to provide a central collective voice for classroom teachers throughout the state.
In the 1940's, Los Angeles Local 430 became the largest CSFT unit. During the Red Scare of
the late 1940's and early 1950's, Local 430 was suspected of harboring Communists. When the
AFT investigation disclosed there were "radical" elements among the local's leadership,
Local 430's charter was revoked and a new affiliate formed. The union gained momentum in the
1950's under the leadership of Ben Rust, who served as president from 1951 to 1957. CSFT
paid legal fees and sponsored court cases for teachers who came into conflict with local
school systems. CSFT advocated passage of the Brown Act of 1961, which gave public employees
the right to join employee organizations of their own choosing. The union thus gained a
legal right to exist and to challenge the supremacy of their rival, the CTA. Consequently,
CSFT reorganized and by December 1963 changed its name to the California Federation of
Teachers (CFT).
A hallmark of the CFT has been its close affiliation with organized labor since its
founding. Aided by funds from the AFL-CIO, scores of locals were chartered throughout the
1960s and new members enrolled by the thousands. Beginning in 1968, CFT President Raoul
Teilhet (elected in 1967) spearheaded the final drive to win collective bargaining in
California. This led to the passage of the Rodda Act of 1976, which granted secret ballot
elections for teacher representation in public school grades K through 14.
The
California Federation of Teachers Collection includes the
papers of former CFT officials Raoul Teilhet, Regional Director, CFT Southern Section; Ben
Rust, CFT President 1951-1957; and Ralph Schloming, CFT Executive Secretary 1959-1965. The
collection consists primarily of administrative and organizational records that document the
activities of the union from 1941 to 1986, as well as major legislative issues and general
subject matters affecting education. Materials in the collection include administrative
records, correspondence, constitutions and by-laws, committee and officer reports, platform
and position papers, policy statements, press releases, publications, resolutions,
membership records, proceedings of annual conventions, court transcripts, and publications.
The collection is arranged in three series:
Raoul Teilhet Papers
(1941-1986),
Ben Rust Papers (1951-1972), and
Ralph Schloming Papers
(1952-1972).
Series I,
Raoul Teilhet Papers, are arranged in nine
subseries.
Subseries A,
Administrative Files (1941-1983), contains
organizational records of the CFT Southern regional office including constitutions and
by-laws, committee and officer reports, membership records, statements of policies,
platforms and positions, press releases, and resolutions.
Subseries B,
Records of Conferences and Conventions
(1955-1983), are divided into two subseries,
AFT Annual
Conventions
(1957-1983) and
CFT Annual Conventions
(1955-1976). Each of these subseries contains agendas, constitutions and amendments,
reports, resolutions and similar records documenting the activities of national
meetings.
Subseries C,
Correspondence Files (1945-1985), is divided into
five subseries, each housing correspondence of AFT and CFT Locals. Materials in the
subseries include departmental letters, correspondence with AFT national organization, CFT
officers' correspondence, letters and opinions from CFT legal counsel regarding cases
directly affecting California's teaching profession, and correspondence files pertaining to
higher education in California.
Subseries D,
Financial Records (1951-1973), contains budget
proposals and reports, income and expense statements and summaries, grant and funding
applications, policies and procedures, tax information and related financial
information.
Subseries E,
Legal/Legislative Files (1949-1984), is divided
into three subseries:
Legal Documents (1950-1977),
Legislation/Assembly and Senate (1950-1981), and
Legal/Legislative Reference Files (1949-1984). The subseries contain records for
collective bargaining agreements, merger agreements, and court cases for individual teachers
or locals, CFT positions regarding state legislative actions, legislative opinions,
proposals, reports and summaries, transcripts, legislative correspondence, court orders,
petitions, and related legal and legislative files.
Subseries F,
Minutes and Agendas (1945-1985), contains minutes
and agendas for AFT and CFT locals, CFT Executive Committee and Council, and several special
issue oriented committees and task forces.
Subseries G,
Publications (1947-1986), is comprised of teacher
union and education-oriented articles, newspapers, newsletters and journals. The series also
contains a newspaper clipping file. The subseries is further divided into seven subseries,
each housing pamphlets or articles and newsletters pertaining to the AFT, CFT and/or
specific locals. Oversize publications have been moved to the end of the collection.
Subseries H,
Subject Reference Files (1947-1983), contains
articles, directories, flyers, minutes, newsletters, press releases, proposals, speeches,
summaries and related documents covering a wide variety of topics and organizational
affiliations of the CFT. Of particular interest are the files documenting academic freedom,
certification, collective bargaining elections, desegregation, grievance policies, public
school financing, salaries and teacher training.
Subseries I,
Non-Manuscript Materials (1972, 1978), consists
audio-tapes of CFT conferences, speeches, and personal background information on several of
the union leaders as well as photographs. Files in this series are arranged alphabetically
and chronologically within.
Series II,
Ben Rust Papers, is divided into three subseries.
Subseries A,
Journals of Ben Rust (1951-1958), contains journals
kept by Ben Rust during his tenure as CFT President from 1951-1957. Subseries B,
Publications and Writings (1954-1969), consists of published and
unpublished books and pamphlets written by Rust. Subseries C,
Speeches
of Ben Rust
(1952-1959), houses copies of speeches Rust gave at CFT conventions and
other meetings during his tenure as CFT President. Files in Publications and Writings are
arranged alphabetically by title, all other files are arranged chronologically.
Series III,
Ralph Schloming Papers, contains records pertaining
to all aspects of administration of the CFT. Schloming served as Executive Secretary for the
Southern Section of the CFT from 1959 to 1965. Some materials pertain to periods before and
after Schloming was in office. The series also includes papers generated during Schloming's
tenure as the president of the educational consulting firm Urban Planning Associates. Of
particular significance is documentation on Community School Programs and Preparing
Educational Planners (Operation PEP). The files include articles, correspondence, brochures,
newspaper clippings, notes, plans and published guidelines and reports. This series is
arranged into two subseries.
Subseries A,
CFT Files of Ralph Schloming (1952-1972), is
divided into five subseries.
Administrative Files (1953-1965)
contains budget information, charters, constitutions and by-laws, contracts and agreements,
correspondence, newsletters and procedure manuals.
Correspondence
Files
(1952-1970) consists of AFT and CFT general correspondence files, as well as
records of committees, locals and executive officers. The files also include Schloming's
correspondence files after he left his position as executive secretary.
Records of the Executive Committee (1955-1972) contain constitutions and
amendments, convention voting records, correspondence, financial records, legislative
information, minutes and agendas, policy statements, proposals, reports and resolutions.
CFT Printed Materials (1951-1971) includes newspaper clippings,
magazine articles, newsletters and pamphlets, reports, speeches and statements.
Subject Files (1954-1971) includes materials on collective
bargaining, credentialing of teachers, higher education, and politics in education. The
files in this subseries are arranged alphabetically and chronologically within.
Subseries B,
UPA Files of Ralph Schloming (1966-1977), is
divided into two subseries:
Subject Files (1966-1977) contains
articles, correspondence, notes, reports and related research material documenting the
activities, consulting and educational interests of Urban Planning Associates, and
Operation PEP (Preparing Educational Planners) (1968-1970) contains
a series of publications prepared by Urban Planning Associates. The PEP project, and
Elementary and Secondary Education Act [ESEA] Title III program produced a total of
twenty-four publications on educational management and system techniques. Files in this
series are arranged alphabetically and chronologically within.
Series I: Raoul Teilhet Papers, 1941-1986
Subseries A: Administrative Files, 1941-1983
Subseries B: Records of Conferences and Conventions, 1955-1983
Subseries 1: AFT Annual Conventions, 1957-1983
Subseries 2: CFT Annual Conventions, 1955-1976
Subseries C: Correspondence Files, 1945-1985
Subseries 1: AFT Correspondence, 1945-1984
Subseries 2: CFT Locals' Correspondence, 1962-1984
Subseries 3: CFT Officers' Correspondence, 1954-1985
Subseries 4: CFT Confidential Correspondence, 1963-1980
Subseries 5: CFT Legal Correspondence, 1954-1984
Subseries 6: Correspondence on Higher Education, AFT, CFT, and other, 1957-1985
Subseries D: Financial Records, 1951-1973
Subseries E: Legal/Legislative Files, 1949-1984
Subseries 1: Legal Documents, 1950-1977
Subseries 2: Legislation/Assembly and Senate, 1950-1981
Subseries 3: Legal/Legislative Reference Files, 1949-1984
Subseries F: Minutes and Agendas, 1945-1985
Subseries G: Publications, 1947-1986
Subseries 1: AFT Articles/newsletters, 1968-1970
Subseries 2: AFT Pamphlets, 1962-1982
Subseries 3: CFT Articles/Newsletters, 1948-1984
Subseries 4: newsletters of Local Districts, 1947-1986
Subseries 5: Non-AFT/CFT Articles, 1954-1970
Subseries 6: Non-AFT/CFT Newsletters and Pamphlets, 1954-1981
Subseries 7: Newspaper Clipping files, 1951-1985
Subseries 8: Oversize Publications, 1954-1985
Subseries H: Subject Reference Files, 1947-1983
Subseries I: Non-Manuscript Material, 1972, 1978
Series II: Ben Rust Papers, 1951-1969
Subseries A: Journals of Ben Rust, 1951-1958
Subseries B: Publications and Writings, 1954-1969
Subseries C: Speeches of Ben Rust, 1952-1959
Series III: Ralph Schloming Papers, 1952-1977
Subseries A: the CFT Files of Ralph Schloming, 1952-1972
Subseries 1: Administrative Files, 1953-1965
Subseries 2: Correspondence Files, 1952-1970
Subseries 3: Records of the Executive Committee, 1955-1972
Subseries 4: CFT Printed Materials, 1951-1971
Subseries 5: Subject Files, 1954-1971
Subseries B: The UPA Files of Ralph Schloming, 1966-1977
Subseries 1: Subject Files, 1966-1977
Subseries 2: Operation PEP (Preparing Educational Planners), 1968-1970
Related Material
Other Information:
The finding aid for this collection was updated in January 2005, in part under a generous
gift from the J. Paul Getty Trust.
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
1981, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2001
Immediate Source of Acquisition
California Federation of Teachers, 1980.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Robert G. Marshall, Elda I. Arrieta, Julie Ann Parulo; 1992
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Photographs
Audiovisual materials