Robert Ransom, 77; Longtime Leader of L.A. Teachers Unions

Robert Ransom, education activist who was the first president of the United Teachers-Los Angeles, has died at the age of 77.

Ransom died Oct. 31 in a North Hollywood hospital after a long illness, his family announced Saturday. He was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood.

A native of Oregon, Ransom moved to California as a child and attended Manual Arts High School and Occidental College. He served in the Navy during World War II.

Ransom began his career in education as a teacher, but soon became an attendance and welfare counselor in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Always active in teachers’ groups, Ransom became president in the late 1960s of the Associated Classroom Teachers of Los Angeles (ACTLA), the largest and most conservative organization that represented teachers at the time. Ransom spoke out frequently about overcrowded classrooms, lack of materials and poor upkeep of facilities, as well as teachers’ salaries.

When the United Teachers-Los Angeles was created from several organizations in 1970, Ransom was chosen as the president. He led a five-week strike that year, the longest in the history of the local school system. Ransom considered the strike to be successful, although it won only modest gains for the teachers, because it established the new union’s bargaining power.

After four years as union president, Ransom returned to his counseling position, retiring from the school district in 1978.

As a retiree, he was active on the legislative committee of the Assn. of Retired Teachers.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Grace Niven Ransom, also a retired Los Angeles teacher; a son, Donald Ransom; two daughters, Joyce Mohr and Laura Johnson, and two grandchildren.