In Blog

Help Save Jobs at CMU.  Please Sign the Petition!

The Central Michigan University Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) has announced that the university administration will lay off 38 fixed term faculty at the end of this semester as part of a questionable cost saving plan to merge departments. This decision will not only eliminate jobs represented by our Union of Teaching Faculty (UTF), but harm students’ academic goals and weaken the university’s mission to promote inclusion and diversity through programs mostly housed in CLASS.  UTF lecturers have worked countless hours keeping the university strong during COVID. The cost savings of these cuts is minimal. UTF is demanding that the administration make budget decisions which retain UTF faculty. Please help the Union of Teaching Faculty at Central Michigan University keep their jobs by signing the petition in the link below:

Metro Detroit AFL-CIO “Safe Jobs For All” Panel

Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist to Kick Off AFT Michigan Education Policy Conference May 1

We’re excited to announce that Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist will join us at AFT Michigan’s Education Policy Conference, which will take place on May 1st from 8:30 AM-12:30 PM.  

This conference will also include: 

  • A state budget overview, with breakouts focusing on universities, community colleges, and PreK-12 schools; 
  • A panel discussion about racial justice in our education system, focusing on the problems with punitive practices and how we can be part of dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline; and 
  • Breakouts by constituency to discuss safely navigating COVID-19 and improving public education in Michigan over the year ahead. 

We hope you’ll join us to learn more and get involved in the key issues we address as a union.

AFT PSRP Conference – April 23-24

The AFT PSRP Virtual Conference is fast approaching. Registration is still open! If you are attending as a group, please remember that each group member must register individually using their own email address.

The conference promises to be engaging, exciting and a whole lot of fun. After a year of pandemic upheaval, now you can move from surviving to THRIVING.

Whether you’ve been on-site all year at your school, college or university, or you’ve been doing your job remotely or in some hybrid way, join us as we share our best strategies for building up our union and the can-do spirit that make us the heart and soul of our workplaces.

The AFT PSRP Virtual Conference will begin on the evening of Friday, April 23, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, and continue on Saturday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

Click here for the registration page and register today!

The conference program can be found on AFT’s website or by clicking here.

2021 Rollie Hopgood Future Teachers Scholarship Award Applications Now Available!

AFT Michigan has three eligibility categories of the “Rollie Hopgood Future Teachers Scholarship Award” for qualifying individuals.

Scholarship categories and links to applications and forms are:

  1. Graduating senior of an AFT Michigan high school with the goal of becoming a teacher;
  1. AFT Michigan PSRP dues paying member for at least one academic year enrolled (full- or part-time) in a teacher certification program at a college or university;

and

  1. AFT Michigan dues paying member for at least one academic year son(s) and/or daughter(s) who is a graduating senior with the goal of becoming a teacher.

Click here to download the applications.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Linda Moore at tftlindamoore@gmail.com.

Upcoming Professional Development

AFT Michigan 

Strategies to Help Grieving Students and Enhance Social Emotional Skills Prek-14

May 1, 2021, 8:30 a.m – 4:00 p.m.

This workshop will provide participants an opportunity to review research about how personal loss has a profound impact emotionally and the academic growth of students. Attendees will develop strategies to help learners cope with loss and the grieving process 

Click here to register.

In solidarity, 

David Hecker, President

Recent Posts
AFTMI logoAFTMI logo