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Urban Archives Center
Descriptive Finding Guide for

AFFILIATED TEACHER ORGANIZATIONS OF LOS ANGELES
HAROLD CORBIN DONATION

1944 - 1972
[Predominantly 1952 - 1972]

2.5 linear feet
1 oversize box

Prepared by

Robert G. Marshall, Head Archivist; Elda I. Arrieta, Student Assistant
October 1991

Revised by Autumn Hayner, J. Paul Getty Trust, Student Assistant
[Revised October 2004]

© 2004 Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge. All rights reserved. For additional information, please contact Urban Archives Center .

CATALOGING INFORMATION

PROVENANCE

The collection of papers documenting the history of the Affiliated Teacher Organizations of Los Angeles [ATOLA] was donated to the Urban Archives Center, California State University, Northridge by Harold Corbin on March 22, 1982. Pre- processing of the collection began in 1982 and final processing was completed in 1991. This finding guide was revised in September 2004 under a generous gift from the J. Paul Getty Trust to update the finding guides. The collection is open to research without restrictions.

HISTORY

Harold Corbin became a permanent teacher for the Los Angeles School District in 1939. His salary was $189 a month, having started teaching back in 1933 as a Physics, Chemistry, and Math teacher at North Hollywood High School.

Back in the 1930's, many separate teacher organizations existed in Los Angeles. For example there was the Association for Childhood Education [ACE], which was an organization of elementary and high school teachers, principles, counselors, nurses, and even "hooky" cops. All of them made separate representations to the Board of Education. Around 1935, they tried combining to make only one representative body. Eventually, the various employee groups joined together to form a federation.

Between 1930 and 1932, ATOLA, the Affiliated Teacher Organizations of Los Angeles was formed. Corbin joined in 1946 - 1947 at the high school where he worked. He was asked to attend an American Federation of Teachers convention as a local delegate in Santa Barbara and agreed to do so. The American Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1079, was then actively organizing teachers and looked for confrontation with the newly formed ATOLA. AFT members joined ATOLA as infiltrators and gradually created a new organization known as LATA, the Los Angeles Teachers Association, which was an affiliate organization.

ATOLA was organized for various reasons, mainly to advance and raise the standards for the general welfare of the schools and the teaching profession, and to promote cooperation and understanding between the teaching profession and the community. ATOLA combines six affiliated associations under a federation-type organization. The Affiliation also has direct relations with fourteen or more autonomous organizations representing various professional levels and interests in the Los Angeles City School District. [Note: The Brown Act of 1961 granted California teachers the right to join or not join the employee organization of their choice].

The policy-making and governing body of ATOLA was the Representative Council which had one representative for each 100 members in a department. Seventy-five percent of the membership came from classroom teachers. All certified personnel, regardless of position, were united as members of the teaching profession through representatives on the ATOLA Representative Council. The Board of Directors of ATOLA were selected by the Representative Council, and responsible for the administrative functions of the organization. The structure resembles somewhat that of the Los Angeles school system, where unity and diversity are important attributes.

Corbin was Vice-President of ATOLA for three years and a delegate to many of its conventions. He was also a member of the Merger Committee responsible for writing the proposal to combine the Los Angeles Teachers Association and ATOLA. The efforts to merge led to an arbitration hearing which lasted several days. Negotiations broke down because members of the American Federation of Teachers believed the final outcome of a merger was based too strongly on compromise.

From the initial attempts to merge LATA and ATOLA came ACT-LA, the Associated Classroom Teachers of Los Angeles, National Education Association [NEA] who along with members of the AFT were planning their own merger against the wishes of many ACT-LA members. The "confrontationists," those members who were interested in collective bargaining and unionism, were active leaders in the controversy. ATOLA approved the idea of a meet-and-confer relationship (know as the Winton Act) over collective bargaining. A third merger option, the United Teachers Los Angeles, a combination of ACT-LA and LATU members, finally succeeded by February 1, 1970.

During the Los Angeles Teachers Strike in 1971, Corbin refused to join the picket lines with fellow teachers, selecting instead to stay in the classroom. His reasons were published in the PTA Bulletin, where he stated at the time, "I marched to the sound of my own drum". That same year he retired and up to this point, he still believed that labor unions were inappropriate for the teaching profession.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTES

Mr. Corbin's donation relates to his teaching career and the political and social problems occurring in the school system with the Board of Education since the 1930's. The collection is especially conducive to the study of teacher organizations, unions, and the merging of various groups. The records date mostly from 1944 (predominantly 1952) to 1972, and include correspondence, newsletters, newspaper clippings, fliers, pamphlets, minutes, journals, agreements, calendars, filmstrips, audio tapes, and manuals.

RELATED UAC COLLECTION

Additional material relating to Mr. Corbin's activities or the unionizing activities of teachers may be found in the following collection:

DIGITAL COLLECTION & PROJECTS

RELATED RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS

Related research sources on major topics covered in this collection are located in the following institutions:

SECONDARY SOURCES

Located in the CSUN Oviatt Library are books pertaining to major topics covered in this collection. They include:

IMPORTANT SUBJECTS & PERSONALITIES

Important personalities and subjects found in the collection include [Note: See Appendix A for details on location within the collection]:

CONTENTS & SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

4 manuscript boxes
1 oversize box

SERIES I: SUBJECT FILES, 1944-1972, Boxes ATOLA 1-4

This series contains correspondence, newsletters, newspaper clippings, fliers, pamphlets, memoranda, minutes, journals, agreements, calendars, reports, and manuals. Of particular interest are the files pertaining to combined teacher union organization since the 1930's and the problems that led to the strike in 1971. The files are arranged in alphabetical order by subject, and chronologically within.

NON-MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL, Box (OV) ATOLA 5

DISPOSED RECORDS

All duplicate and non-archival papers have been destroyed.

MICROFILM REEL NUMBERS

(Microfilming was not done for this collection)

BOX LISTING

SERIES I: SUBJECT FILES, 1944-1972
Boxes ATOLA 1-4

Box ATOLA 1 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 8412]

Box ATOLA 2 of 5 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 8420]

Box ATOLA 3 of 5 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 8438]

Box ATOLA 4 of 5 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 8446]

NON-MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL

NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION [NEA]
Box (OV) ATOLA 5

Box (OV) ATOLA 5 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 8453]

[End Box Listing]

APPENDIX A
INDEX TO IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES & SUBJECTS

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