UACT Mission Statement
The Unified Association of Conejo Teachers’ mission is to improve the conditions of teaching and learning; to ensure a quality, free public education to the children of the Conejo Valley; to protect and promote the well-being of its members through a vigorous defense of the collective bargaining agreement; and to ensure that the teaching profession is held to a high standard and teachers are treated accordingly.
In 1996, Sydney Stein sent the following letter to several UACT members.
The current president of UACT has asked me to write a history of the Unified Association of Conejo Teachers. In order to begin this task, I would like to request your help. Please complete the following and mail it back to the UACT office: 100 East Thousand Oaks Blvd, T.O., or if you wish to respond orally call me after July 2 at xxx-xxxx. Thank you your help in advance.
The following information was requested. Name, Offices Held & Date(s), Committees & Date(s), Greatest accomplishment during your time of service, Greatest problem during your time of service and additional thoughts. Here's what some of our members had to say.
Greatest Accomplishment Greatest Problem
- "Getting people to see how important having a union is and that UACT/CTA/NEA dues are important we want to protect our rights as teachers." - Annette Sedey
- "Made Madrona a 100% UACT school by individually discussing advantages of membership with the new teachers and non members." - Greg
- "Support teachers as professionals (pre-union)." - Carol
Additional Thoughts
- "Thank you for all you do, Sydney, et al!I will/do eternally thank you and UACT members/officers. Hooray for CVUSD teachers!" - Judy Stewart
- "I was a 'Worker Bee' and always wished there were more of the same. The organization is only as strong as its supporters." - Audrey Lund
- "I really enjoy going t o the meetings once a month and finding out what is going on and what is about to go on! I am proud to be a member." - Dave
- "Helping people see what's important and what is not; we sometimes make issues over very petty things." - Cindy Vodraska
- "Consistently having 35 or 36 children in my classroom and not having the support personnel that most other occupations would provide. While I consider myself a good teacher now, I do sometimes sadly reflect upon what I could have been had I been given decent sized classrooms and a capable personal secretary." - Alan Nubling
- "Great to be involved-- more people should." - Teresa
- "I wish the public would have a better understanding about what we do. It seems we are an easy target." - Bernie Honey
- "I served UACT with a very special group of people who in their concern for teachers' rights understood that professionalism encompassed all areas of educational behavior and required a "good self image' and, also, self respect. UACT did more to improve education in the Conejo than any other force. I am proud to have worked long and hard for our goals with so many fine educators." - Diane
June 22, 1978: UACT holds that in any case, it is far better to have a full quality program for 80% of their school year than to have makeshift, overloaded classes with inadequate supplies and facilities and underpaid teachers for 100% of the time. - Bill Gordon; School Board Mtg.
September 14, 1978: Contract approved; cap on class size, no raise, UACT ratified day before school opened, gave step & column.
1978: NPHS and WHS shared campuses.
The Negotiations for the First Legal Contract Between the Conejo Teachers and the Conejo Valley Unified School District 1976-1977 by Sydney Stein.
In 1973 two school districts in the Conejo Valley in Ventura County, California were unified. Two years later California adopted a collective bargaining plan for public school teachers. Within one week of the date that the law went into effect, negotiations between the Conejo teachers and the Conejo Valley Unified School District began.
get the whole story about our first legal contract.
Could you live off the 1984-85 Salary Schedule?
