Statewide Events: Our statewide events are opportunities for locals to come together from across the state to tackle topics that impact our broader constituencies and communities. A mix of larger in-person all day events and shorter virtual events, these are great opportunities to connect with the work that our union siblings and community members are doing as well as get introduced to various resources AFT Michigan has to offer.
Members can register at aftmichigan.org/events.
| Event | Date/Time | Location |
| AUGUST | ||
| New Officer Orientation | August 28, 2025/ 5-6:30 PM | Zoom |
| SEPTEMBER | ||
| Unemployment Workshop | September 25, 2025/ 6 PM | Zoom |
| Fall Leadership Summit | September 27, 2025/ 9 AM-3:30 PM | UM Dearborn, Fairlane South |
| Administrative Board @ Leadership Summit | September 27, 2025/ 3:30 PM | UM Dearborn, Fairlane South |
| OCTOBER | ||
| Fall Union Building Institute (UBI) | October 6-9, 2025/ 5 PM-6 PM | Zoom |
| Collective Bargaining & Contract Campaigns Session 1 | October 14, 2025/ 5-7 PM | Zoom |
| Collective Bargaining & Contract Campaigns Session 2 | October 28, 2025/ 5-7 PM | Zoom |
| NOVEMBER | ||
| Higher Education Constituency Committee | November 5, 2025/ 4:30-6 PM | Zoom |
| Collective Bargaining & Contract Campaigns Session 3 | November 11, 2025/ 5-7 PM | Zoom |
| Healthcare Constituency Committee | November 12, 2025/ 6-7:30 PM | Zoom |
| PreK-12 Constituency Committee | November 18, 2025/ 5-6:30 PM | Zoom |
| Administrative Board | November 24, 2025/ 5-7 PM | AFT Michigan |
| DECEMBER | ||
| AFT Great Lakes Regional Leadership Meeting | December 5-6, 2025 | Chicago, IL |
| Unemployment Workshop | December 10, 2025/ 1-2PM | Zoom |
| JANUARY | ||
| Collective Bargaining & Contract Campaigns Session 1 | January 20,2026/ 5-7 PM | Zoom |
| Collective Bargaining Conference | January 24, 2026/ 9 AM-3 PM | TBD |
| Administrative Board | January 26, 2026/ 5-7PM | Zoom |
| FEBRUARY | ||
| Collective Bargaining & Contract Campaigns Session 2 | February 3, 2026/ 5-7 PM | Zoom |
| PreK-12 Constituency Committee | February 10, 2026/ 5-6:30 PM | Zoom |
| Higher Education Constituency Committee | February 11, 2026/ 4:30 PM-6 PM | Zoom |
| Collective Bargaining & Contract Campaigns Session 3 | February 17, 2026/ 5-7 PM | Zoom |
| Healthcare Constituency Committee | February 25, 2026/ 6-7:30 PM | Zoom |
| Winter Union Building Institute | February 23-26, 2026/ 5-6 PM | Zoom |
| MARCH | ||
| Higher Education Constituency Committee | March 11, 2026/ 4:30- 6 PM | Zoom |
| PreK-12 Constituency Committee | March 17, 2026/ 5-6:30 PM | Zoom |
| Administrative Board | March 23, 2026/ 5-7PM | AFT Michigan |
| Healthcare Constituency Committee | March 25, 2026/ 6-7:30 PM | Zoom |
| APRIL | ||
| Unemployment Workshop | TBD | Zoom |
| MAY | ||
| AFT Michigan Convention | May 2, 2026/ 9 AM | Huntington Place (1 Washington Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226) |
| JUNE | ||
| Administrative Board | June 15, 2026/ 5-7PM | AFT Michigan |
| Great Lakes ULI | June 22-26, 2026 | TBD |
Download a printable one-page calendar here.
Core Trainings & Planning Workshops: Our Core Trainings and Planning Workshops are designed to support local teams in learning and developing plans to support union building. Trainings and Workshops are correlated to our core areas of union-building and are in alignment with local goal reflection and setting. Local leaders should reach out to their field representative to set up a time at your local for these trainings and workshops.
| Core Areas of Union Building | Core Training | Audience | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal Organizing & Governance Structures | Planning and Running Effective Meetings (1 hour) | Officers, committee chairs, worksite leaders and anyone else responsible for large or small meetings | Just because your principal or department chair runs boring meetings doesn’t mean you have to; learn how to run union meetings that rock! After this workshop, participants will be able to: *Identify tools and steps to plan for a meeting: including building out an engaging agenda, setting a date, and getting members to turn out *Strategically plan and implement facilitation skills that promote a democratic process, invite member participation, and lead to member-driven decision making *Reflect on existing practices and identify strengths and areas for development that will lead to more member participation and engagement in union meetings |
| Group Decision Making (3 hours) | Officers, staff, or others responsible for facilitating decision-making | Democracy is hard–and most of us haven’t had much practice before we became union leaders: *Learn to identify the stages and components of decision-making processes *Analyze the (formal and informal) rules and norms of how their local makes decisions *Develop suggestions for ways your local can improve practices and norms to reach more inclusive decisions with more effective implementation | |
| Strategic Planning/Local Retreat(2 hours) | Officers, staff, or others responsible for campaigns or local projects | Gather your local team to look at the year ahead! This workshop puts aside two hours to reflect and plan forward and includes: *Identifying key campaigns or tasks that your local wants to focus on *Goal Reflection and setting priorities for the year ahead | |
| Worksite Leader Development (Planning Workshop)(2 hours) | Organizing staff and worksite leaders responsible for planning and development | Learn about strong worksite structures and help develop local worksite leaders who support them! This planning workshop spends time identifying development areas for local worksite leaders including member organizing, effective communication, and handling worksite issues. Locals will spend time building a plan to provide training and ongoing support | |
| Worksite Mapping(2 hours) | Building reps, stewards, and other leaders responsible for organizing | Know the lay of the land! This workshop helps local teams learn the basics of worksite mapping and includes using lists and locations to help determine turf for organizing efforts and union building. Participants will begin to map out their local to identify trends, strengths, and gaps in their membership and worksite structures. | |
| Local Organizing Structures(1.5 hours) | Building reps, stewards, and other leaders responsible for organizing | How are well-run, sustainable, and thriving unions set up? This training presents several structural components and organizational practices that can help your union run effectively and efficiently, with attention to member participation and leadership development. This training will be of interest to union members and leaders who want to increase member engagement and create opportunities for members to grow. | |
| 1:1 Conversations (1.5-2 hours) | Building reps, stewards, and other leaders responsible for organizing | Strong locals continuously build and improve their 1:1 conversation skills to have conversations with coworkers, move them to action, and build a habit of doing this with accountability. During this 90 minute session participants will learn the structure of a strong and effective 1:1 organizing conversation as well as role play using the context of their local’s membership drive or campaign. | |
| Beginning of the Year Organizing (Planning Workshop) (2 hours) | Leaders and staff responsible for organizing | This workshop discusses best practices for orientations and new member outreach. Locals will discuss how they might use the Member Organizing Institute and take advantage of AFT Michigan organizing grants and other support programs for organizing efforts. Locals will begin to plan a BoY organizing plan that incorporate best practices for orientations and new member outreach including: *Identify aspects of a strong beginning of the year organizing plan *Create their local’s organizing plan that identifies: -How locals will reach out to new employees at orientation -What other opportunities exist to reach out to new employees -A plan to reach out to non-members 1:1 | |
| Membership Drive (Planning Workshop)(2 hours) | Leaders and staff responsible for organizing | This planning workshop supports locals in developing ongoing membership drive plans. Leaders and staff responsible for organizing efforts will spend time setting goals, building lists, and setting benchmarks. This team should plan to reconvene over the course of the year to review the organizing plan and make adjustments. | |
| Financial, Data & Communications Systems | Communication Tools for Worksite Leaders(1 hour) | Officers, committee chairs, worksite leaders | How can we increase effective communication to members to build strong unions? This session will guide local and worksite leaders through strategies that can help inform and engage members. Topics covered will include: 10 minute meetings, building communication trees, drafting effective emails. |
| Political Action & Social Justice | PAC Fundraising (Planning Workshop)(2 hours) | Officers, political & community outreach coordinators, politically engaged members | This planning workshop supports locals in working through their PAC fundraising planning template. It includes reviewing strategies for fundraising at your local including communications and outreach, planning and running a PAC blitz, and setting goals and benchmarks. We recommend local PAC coordinators as well as any worksite or local leaders involved in planning and executing PAC fundraising plans attend. |
| Local Election (Planning Workshop)(2 hours) | Officers, political & community outreach coordinators, politically engaged members | This planning workshop supports locals interested in getting involved in local elections (school board, millage/bond). The local team will spend time gathering information about the upcoming election including: *Determine core messaging and coalition building *Identifying current endorsements and/or building a plan for endorsements *Plan for voter outreach and communication | |
| Understanding Your School Board(1.5 hours) | Officers, political & community outreach coordinators, politically engaged members | Voters have the power to elect our boss’ boss! Learn about the structure of your board, their members, and the role they play in decision making at your institution. Local teams will walk away with a deeper understanding of how their board functions and how locals can get involved to engage their board. | |
| Negotiating and Problem Solving | Collective Bargaining (3 Sessions; 6 hours) | Bargaining team members, officers | This 3-session workshop will prepare you for the collective bargaining process, including an opportunity to practice at the negotiations table. Local contract teams should attend all three sessions: *Identify core bargaining procedures and rules *Document the sequence of preparation, planning and presentation with management. *Defining Power Dynamics, and articulate how interactions with administration/collective bargaining at the table can affect outcomes *Demonstrate techniques, skills, and tools to effectively strengthen union positions through bargaining role play by arriving at new contract language *Develop a problem-solving approach to bargaining and enforcing contracts *Critically analyze how to know when to “cut a deal” |
| Contract Enforcement (2 Sessions) (2 hours) | Building reps, stewards, or other worksite leaders | This 2-session workshop covers the basics of enforcing your contract, from investigating and filing grievances up to preparing for arbitration. After this workshop worksite leaders will: *Understand the importance of contract enforcement in a member-engaged union *How to identify and handle grievances *Begin building a strong union that engages and empowers our members by identifying sources of power to resolve an issue and mobilize members. | |
| Strategic Transparency & Engaging Members in Bargaining(1.5-2 hours) | Bargaining and Organizing Team | Many of us feel caught between the necessity of keeping members informed about the bargaining process and fears of negatively impacting progress at the table. This workshop is designed to help locals ask strategic questions throughout the process to navigate the most effective route possible, leading to more engaged members and great contracts. Participants will: *Learn how to actively and strategically open the bargaining process to members. The choices a local can make rest on a continuum of choices from simple ways to share what is happening at the table to open bargaining sessions where members sit in on sessions. We will focus on strategies that help the bargaining team to make gains that help more members and create a path to successful ratification. *Leave feeling more courage to try this approach and understand that they can learn to trust members being part of the bargaining process. *Practice writing a strategically transparent communication to members about what is happening in bargaining, especially when bargaining gets heated or the potential solution is not what was expected by the team or members. | |
| Contract Campaign (Planning Workshop)(2 hours) | Bargaining and Organizing Team | This workshop includes time to start thinking through your local’s contract campaign plan and timeline, so we encourage you to bring a team of 3-5 people. We’ll go through the foundational components of setting up a strategic contract campaign with a focus on core questions to help locals build power. Local teams will begin to draft a contract campaign timeline. After this workshop, participants will: *Understand and identify the components of running a strategic contract campaign *Answer core questions for planning and running their contract campaign *Draft a timeline to implement a contract campaign at their local | |
| Bargaining Simulation(4 hours) | Bargaining Team | This training sets aside time for your local bargaining team to practice negotiation skills at the table. Locals should expect to set aside 4 hours to dive into prospective proposals and a simulation. |
Click here to download a complete copy of the 2025-2026 Union Building Calendar.
