January 25, 2021
UPAMM Organizes For First Contract
Members of the Union of Physician Assistants at Michigan Medicine are organizing for a first contract.
Last Tuesday members wore UPAMM buttons seen here being worn by UPAMM President Jill Hasen. PAs throughout the hospital also put their names on a public poster indicating their solidarity and unity. Joining Jill with the poster is Robin Tarter, Executive Director of the House Officers Association (HOA), a sister local at UM Hospital that has been extremely supportive of all of our work with the Physician Assistants.
Clare-Gladwin Hits 95% Membership
The exec team at Clare-Gladwin RESD never gives up on going after members who are unsure about union membership. They circle around time and again to fill non-members in on what the union is doing, both locally and at the state level, to uplift educators and our profession.
They recently made the wise decision to invite a non-member from a building with few members to participate in union meetings. He joined the union, became a great recruiter of members from that building, and is now a vital participant in union activities.
The union’s membership is now at 95% because of the continued hard work of these union leaders. They do not give up on long standing non-members, and quickly introduce themselves, and the union, to all new hires. It is because of their tireless efforts they have a strong local union with active members. Congratulations to local President Matt Smith and the entire local.
Record Turnout for the AFT Michigan Member Organizing Institute
More than fifty members from thirteen locals (including healthcare, K-12 support staff and teachers, graduate employees, contingent faculty, tenure-track faculty and academic staff) gathered (virtually) Saturday morning to develop the organizing skills and strategies to build strong local unions. It’s inspiring to see so many people stepping up to build their skills and their union through all the challenges of this pandemic. A special thank you to Nancy Welter, Executive Director of the Union of Part-Time Faculty, and Taylor Monday, Lead Organizer of the Graduate Employees Organizing Committee, who stepped up to co-facilitate at the last minute when we had a surge in registrations last week.
AFT Fireside Chat with Dr. Fauci – Thursday, January 28
Join AFT for a fireside chat with Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden. AFT will livestream this discussion on Facebook and YouTube at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28. For those who normally join our regular Tuesday town halls, this special Thursday event with Dr. Fauci will replace the regular Tuesday town hall.
AFT will submit questions from AFT members to Dr. Fauci. We invite you to submit your question here.
Upcoming Union-Building Workshops
| Bargaining 101 | 3 Mondays: Jan 25, Feb 1, Feb 8, 2021 | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm |
| Using Google Docs for Organizing | Tuesday, Feb 23 | 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm |
Upcoming Professional Development
Strategies to Support a Rigorous Learning Environment that Maximizes Students’ Academic Success PreK-14
AFT Michigan – Virtual Workshop
February 6, 2021
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This in-service is designed to enhance and show educators how to add more rigor in the classroom by fostering real-world connections, engagement, and deeper learning.
Michigan Department of Education Workshop
Safe, Supportive and Inclusive Classrooms: Practical Strategies for Affirming LGBTQ+ Students.
February 2, 2021 | 8:00 – 9:30 am — Link to Register; 3:00 – 4:30 pm — Link to RegisterIn this interactive workshop, we will explore day-to-day dealings educators have with their LGBTQ+ students and their non-LGBTQ+ peers in the classroom. We will explore questions like, How can I make my classroom inclusive? What are ways I can ensure my LGBTQ+ students know I support them? How can I intervene when I hear anti-LGBTQ comments? How can I teach lessons that are more representative of our student population? What if a student comes out to me? What are ways I can effectively collaborate with parents of LGBTQ+ students? Participants will leave with concrete strategies they can immediately implement in the classroom. A foundational understanding of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression is recommended, but not required. This workshop is geared towards teachers.
We are especially excited to have Owen Bondono, Michigan’s 2020-21 Teacher of the Year, as a guest co facilitator! The workshop size is small, so we will be admitting those who register on a first-come, first-serve basis with priority given to classroom teachers. The workshops will be highly interactive and engaging and will not be recorded. It is important that people only register for the workshop if they plan to attend the full 90 minutes on the day and time of the event. These sessions have been designed for live participation only and will not be recorded. For those in other roles in schools (e.g., counselors, social workers, administrators, administrative support professionals) and community agency staff, we would ask you to not sign up for this particular webinar and wait for other offerings geared toward broader audiences. See flyer for more information about the projects and other offerings. If you are interested in getting on the MDE LGBTQ Students Project mailing list to hear about future professional development opportunities, please sign up here.
In solidarity,
David Hecker, President
