AFT Ohio Federation of Teachers Records

Collection

Identifier: LR001442

Staff Only

Scope and Content

Part I (Series 1-3) of this collection contains general office files, correspondence, and minutes as well as conference materials. Subjects include the federation's activities with improving membership and public schools, professional and educational programs. There is information dealing with the Ohio politics and communication with Ohio locals.

Series I, General Office Files, 1938-1986, Boxes 1-3: Notices, press releases, convention minutes, constitutions, reports, programs and other materials relating to the Ohio Federation of Teachers' activities, administration, and its organization.

Series II, Correspondence, 1966-1987, Boxes 3-10: Correspondence, notices, reports, clippings, and other materials relating to the activities of the president's office and the executive secretary of the Ohio Federation of Teachers in the fields of finance, labor, politics, and education.

Series III, Minutes and Conference Materials, 1966-1987, Boxes 10-13: Conference committee reports, minutes of the executive council, officers, and staff meetings, as well as defense cases involving Ohio Federation of Teachers members.

The AFT Ohio Federation of Teachers Records, Part II, illustrate the union’s activities and initiatives for educator and student rights and improving education systems. Materials include correspondence, reports, minutes, convention and conference proceedings, constitutions, publications, legislation, newsletters, press releases, speech and testimony transcripts, pamphlets, and photographs. Additional subjects include organizing, bargaining, legislation and court cases, and conflicts and collaborations with the National Education Associations Ohio charter, the OEA.

Series 4: General OFT Files, 1961-2008 General files of the OFT are comprised from various offices in the OFT. The series has communications with locals in Ohio, which include general correspondence, organizing strategies, and negotiations. There are files on general subjects, legislation, and various community organizations. The series also has internal materials such as the OFT executive council/committee, convention meeting minutes, general meetings, workshops and other internal organizing files from the OFT. Of note are files on retirees, the financing and organizing of unions in Ohio, higher education, and issues surrounding charter schools in Ohio, especially a lawsuit with White Hat Management.

Series 5: Presidents’ Files, 1973-2010 The Presidents’ files complement similar records found in Part I, and are from the offices of Raymond Kikta, Joseph Vargo, Ronald Marec, and Tom Mooney. Many of Mooney’s records also represent his tenure as the President of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, various activities with the national office including his role as Vice-President of AFT, his interests and activities in human rights and labor issues on an international level, and his work with organizations outside of but related to the AFT.

Series 6: Audiovisual Material, 1967-circa 2006 Audiovisual material includes photographs from various locals, state and national conventions, various political figures connected to OFT, and OFT officials and staff. Also included is a VHS tape of the program Children in America’s Schools.

Dates

1938 - 2010
Majority of material found within 1961 - 2010

Creator

AFT Ohio (Ohio Federation of Teachers) (Organization)

Language of Materials

Material entirely in English.

Access

Collection is open for research. Access to materials less than 10 years old requires permission from the AFT Archivist.

Use

Refer to the Walter P. Reuther Library Rules for Use of Archival Materials. Restrictions: Researchers may encounter records of a sensitive nature – personnel files, case records and those involving investigations, legal and other private matters. Privacy laws and restrictions imposed by the Library prohibit the use of names and other personal information which might identify an individual, except with written permission from the Director and/or the donor.

History

The Ohio Federation of Teachers headquarters are in Parma, Ohio. This organization received its charter from the American Federation of Teachers on February 86, 1938.

Extent

47.5 Linear Feet (13 MB, 41 SB)

Additional Description

Abstract

The Ohio Federation of Teachers is a state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and represents primary and secondary school teachers, college and university professors, adjuncts, graduate and student workers, and support staff. The AFT established the Ohio State Federation of Teachers as their first experimental state federation in 1933, which was later officially chartered in 1938. Many locals did not affiliate with the state organization until 1968 when the AFT began to require them to do so. It was not until the 1970s that OFT locals gained collective bargaining rights. Throughout its history, OFT has used collective bargaining, strikes, lobbying and testimony on legislation, and other efforts meet its goals. The OFT and its local affiliates have developed ways to assist teachers and improve retention that have been models for other states, particularly the Toledo Plan, Career in Teaching, and Peer Assistance and Review programs. Other issues the OFT addresses are teacher health and retirement benefits, pay, tenure, curriculum, school budget problems, and charter schools.

Part I of this collection contains general office files, correspondence, and minutes as well as conference materials. Subjects include the federation's activities with improving membership and public schools, professional and educational programs. There is information dealing with the Ohio politics and communication with Ohio locals. Part II contains documents related to the union’s activities and initiatives for educator and student rights and improving education systems. In particular, information on programs for peer review and career development are included. Material types include correspondence, reports, minutes, convention and conference proceedings, constitutions, publications, legislation, newsletters, press releases, speech and testimony transcripts, pamphlets, and photographs. Additional subjects include organizing, bargaining, legislation and court cases, and conflicts and collaborations with the National Education Associations Ohio charter, the OEA.

Arrangement

Part I is arranged in 3 series – Series 1 (Boxes 1-3) in which files are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material and chronologically when more than one folder on a particular subject occurs; Series 2 (Boxes 3-10), in which files are arranged in chronological order for each office; and Series 3 (Boxes 10-13), in which The files are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material, and chronologically when there is more than one folder on any given subject.

Part II arranged in 3 series – Series 4 (Boxes 14-41), Series 5 (Boxes 41-53), and Series 6 (Box 54). Folders in Series 4 and Series 6 are unarranged. Folders in Series 5 are arranged chronologically by the presidents’ term in office and thereunder alphabetically by subject.

Acquisition

The papers of the Ohio Federation of Teachers were placed in the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs in July of 1990 and were opened for research in May of 1992.

The AFT Ohio Federation of Teachers Records, Part II, were deposited in the Reuther Library in multiple accessions in May 2000, July 2003, June 2010, and May 2012.

Related Materials

Local 1520 Cincinnati Federation of Teachers Records, Tom Mooney Papers, AFT President’s Office Records: Albert Shanker, Toledo Federation of Teachers Records, AFT International Department Records, AFT Oral History Project: Tom Mooney Interview, Ohio Teacher.