Enjoy the Season
This will be our last Monday email until January 9. For those who celebrate a holiday this time of year have a great holiday. To everyone, we hope you get some relaxing and enjoyable time off with family and friends. You deserve it.
EMUFT Moves Forward to Unify Bargaining Units
The Eastern Michigan University Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 9102, is nearing a goal held since the earliest days of the local – unifying part-time and full-time lecturers in one bargaining unit. Members of EMUFT are now voting in what’s called a “self determination” election held by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission. If both units vote yes, the local will bargain a unified contract covering all lecturers in 2023.
Ferris State Writing Center Consultants Join FNTFO
The Ferris Nontenure-Track Faculty Organization, AFT Local 6528, is excited to announce that the Ferris State administration has agreed to voluntarily recognize Writing Center Consultants as part of the FNTFO bargaining unit. The local presented management with signed membership cards from all the consultants last May. Throughout the summer and fall of this year, FNTFO members pushed for the university to recognize this group who had been specifically excluded by the original recognition clause of the local’s contract. The consultants are meeting this week with FNTFO leaders to prepare for bargaining additions to the FNTFO contract that will cover their work. Bargaining is expected to begin shortly after the first of the new year.
Big Arbitration Win for WMU AAUP-AFT
Congratulations to Western Michigan University AAUP-AFT on winning an arbitration concerning summer teaching. As the local reported, the arbitrator ruled that tenure-track and tenured faculty “have the right to preference for summer teaching in the amount of 6 credit hours per session (12 credit hours in total) rather than the 6 credit hours pers summer that the administration claimed.” With this win, WMU AAUP-AFT has successfully reversed all three unilateral changes to summer teaching recently imposed by the Administration.
Union Building Institute- February 4, 2023
AFT Michigan’s Union Building Institute will take place on February 4, 2023, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, at UM-Dearborn Fairlane North. Sessions are designed to help all members develop skills to build power at their worksites and unions. With a morning and two afternoon sessions, participants will have the opportunity to design their own UBI agendas by selecting up to 3 workshops from 14 sessions being offered to develop their knowledge and skills around organizing, team building, bargaining, and social justice.
Read descriptions about all the sessions being offered at UBI here. Register for Union Building Institute at aftmichigan.org/union-building-events. Please reach out to Meenakshi Mukherjee (mmukherjee@aftmichigan.org) with any questions.
More and More Americans Support Unions
The National Labor Relations Board, which governs private sector union recognition elections, reported a 57 percent increase in the number of union elections in the first half of the 2022 fiscal year — Oct. 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022 — and unions are winning more than three quarters of their votes. Additionally, the share of Americans who support unions, 71 percent, is at the highest level since 1965, according to Gallup.
Member Spotlight: Patrick Kelley, WCCCD Federation of Teachers, Local 2000
Congratulations to Patrick Kelley, retired AFT professor at both Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) and Henry Ford College, who was nominated by Kerri Barnett-Novack for member spotlight.
“When I spoke on behalf of our students and union at the WCCCD Board of Trustees meetings, I received a TON of support from Trustee Patrick Kelley. Patrick gave an incredible final speech in which he thoroughly and loudly supported unions and really, really supported students. He demanded improved student equipment in labs and libraries, and reminded the board that without enough trained support staff, the students suffer. It was a mic-drop speech, the kind of speech we all dream of making on our last day of work. Patrick has always supported students, both as a professor and a mentor. Patrick remains a union-shop instigator: motivating members to continue the fight for transparency, safety, and justice. He is a hero not because of what he does, but because of what he tries to do despite the foe he faces. His persistence and tenacity are incredibly admirable.”
Help us highlight the amazing work members from across our constituencies do every day for their colleagues, students, communities, and our union. To make sure more people hear their stories, follow the link to our website and fill out the form to nominate an AFT Michigan member to be recognized for what they do at work, in the community, or our union!
Les Leopold, Runaway Inequality Workshop
Join the Communications Workers of America for a free workshop, with free lunch, and free copy of RUNAWAY INEQUALITY book by Les Leopold.
The workshop is open to approximately 30 participants, and lasts 5 – 6 hours with a lunch break, and small group discussions throughout. It is facilitated through Jobs For Justice, and funded by CWA.
Download flier here: https://aftmichigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/jwj-rri-workshop-flyer-2022-v.2.pdf
Register for the Justice Leaders Collaborative Core Course
The Justice Leaders Collaborative (JLC) Core Course is open to all AFT Michigan leaders passionate about issues of equity, inclusion and social justice. Learning will focus on issues of privilege, oppression and inequality along lines of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Participants will come to understand their own social identities, biases, and prejudices; increase their knowledge about the histories and present realities of various social identity groups; and begin considering how to incorporate this knowledge and awareness into building strong unions.
Our next cohort of the Justice Leaders Core Course will run 6 consecutive Mondays, 6:00-8:00 PM, starting January 30th. Nearly 100 AFT Michigan leaders from all constituencies have now completed the Core Course. To register for the Justice Leaders Core Course fill out this form: https://forms.gle GhsHNMprbSefabPb6
Contribute to the AFT Michigan PAC Today
AFT Michigan fights for our members, students and communities all year round and we need your help. Can you donate $1 a week to aid us in this fight? Please visit the AFT Michigan website to contribute and make a big difference in protecting public education and building a better Michigan future!
AFT PSRP Conference – April 14-16
The AFT’s Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel conference brings together school and college support staff from across the country for skill building, professional development, continuing education, camaraderie and fun.
If this is your first conference, you are in for a real treat; for those of you who have been coming back year after year, you know how we get down—our professional development can’t be beat and Solidarity Night is not to be missed!
Join us in Baltimore, April 14-16, for some much-needed camaraderie, learning and fun.
Please see below for all conference forms. They can also be found on our website here.
Conference Information:
Hotel Information:
- Hotel Reservation Instructions and Information
- Hotel Reservation Form
- Conference Rooming List
- Hotel Credit Card Authorization Form
In solidarity
David Hecker
President
