Welcome AFT Michigan New Administrative Board Members, Thank You to Departing Member Lincoln Stocks and Agatha Dier
At our board meeting last week, we welcomed a number of amazing new leaders and celebrated the career of one of our most stalwart leaders.
First, the board appointed three great leaders to serve as Executive Vice Presidents:
- Executive Vice President for Healthcare: Penni Simmons, United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals, Local 6739
- Executive Vice President for Higher Education: Eric Rader, Henry Ford Community College Federation of Teachers, Local 1650
- Executive Vice President for PreK-12: Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins, Detroit Federation of Teachers, Local 231
To fill their slots on the board, we appointed three new members:
- Kelishia Burks, United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals, Local 6739
- Robert Couck, Lake Shore Federation of Teachers, Local 1465
- Nathan Sadowsky, University Staff United, Local 284
Kelishia, Rob, and Nathan join five other new board members who were elected at our Convention in May:
- Cheryl Bodmer, United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals, Local 6739
- Cindee Giffen, UM Lecturers’ Employee Organization, Local 6244
- Jared Maul, MSU Graduate Employees Organization, Local 6196
- Lisa Spratke, United Physician Assistants of Michigan Medicine, Local 5297
- Tameka Young, Dearborn Federation of School Employees, Local 4750
I’d like to offer a personal thank you to Lincoln Stocks, who is retiring from Eastpointe Public Schools after a wonderful career teaching in the same district he was a student in. Lincoln has been president of the Eastpointe Federation of Educators for 20 years and served on our board since 2008. Lincoln has been a steadfast supporter of the state federation, served on the national AFT K-12 PPC, led the effort to create the shared Macomb Federation of Educators office shared by a number of locals, and always worked to unite the labor movement, particularly in Macomb County. Our union and the Michigan labor movement are stronger because of Lincoln’s work.
The Ad Board also recognized the service of Agatha Dier, who is also retiring this summer after serving as the Field Rep for our Macomb K-12 locals for many years. Agatha joined our staff in 2004 after working in Detroit Public Schools and serving as a leader of the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees. Before becoming a Field Rep, she served as our Member Mobilizer and has filled so many formal and informal roles within AFT Michigan over her career.
Thank you and congratulations to Agatha and Lincoln.
MNA UM-PNC March on the Regents THIS THURSDAY June 25
MNA UM-PNC nurses are taking their fight for a fair contract and better patient care to the UM Regents this Thursday at 2pm.
The Dismantling of the Voting Rights Act
The U.S. Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, ruling that the state’s second majority-Black district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. That 6-3 decision kicked away the last pillar holding up the Voting Rights Act. “When courts eliminate remedies for racial discrimination in voting, they aren’t just redrawing maps,” says AFT President Randi Weingarten. “They’re dismantling democracy and setting back the promise of fair, multiracial representation. We will continue to fight for what Americans want and deserve—a fair system of representation, in which every community has an equal chance to choose their leaders and hold them accountable.” Learn how you can join the fight.
Check out AFT President Randi Weingarten’s NYT column about how the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act disenfranchises voters of color and undermines the right of people to decide who their elected representatives are, not the other way around.
ICE is Out of Control! Congress Must Protect Dreamers!
June 15 marks the anniversary of President Obama establishing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012. We had hoped that between DACA and widespread support for Dreamers, we’d be able to pass legislation to protect them, but for nearly 14 years, Republicans in Congress and President Trump have blocked any meaningful help for Dreamers, leaving hundreds of thousands vulnerable to detention, deportation and separation from their families. The attack on Dreamers is nothing short of horrific.
While the Trump administration is undermining the DACA renewal process and targeting Dreamers for deportation, Republicans in Congress just approved sending over $70 billion in new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to expand detention and deportation operations while sowing fear and instability in schools, workplaces and communities across the country.
Combined with the more than $100 billion already available for immigration enforcement, this would bring total federal spending on immigration enforcement to nearly a quarter-trillion dollars—an unprecedented investment in detention, deportation and enforcement rather than solutions that keep families together and strengthen our economy.
In the more than a decade since DACA was established, the policy has enabled more than 825,000 young people who were brought to the United States as children to live, work and contribute to the communities in the only country many of them have called home. Dreamers are teachers, paraprofessionals, nurses, healthcare workers, university staff, public employees, students and essential workers. They help educate our children, care for our patients, strengthen our communities and keep our economy moving forward every day. They are part of our communities, our workplaces and our families. They deserve the dignity of knowing that they can build their futures without fear of being torn away from the only home many have ever known.
Order AFT Organizing Materials
All year long we mobilize and organize our members, our communities and the people we serve.
AFT refreshed organizing materials are now available for you to order. You can order them here: go.aft.org/AFTmaterials.
Organizing materials are available year-round. Whenever you are planning an organizing push, union event, back-to-school event or other mobilizing opportunity, you can select the resources you need, including organizing brochures that show prospective members how to amplify their voice, a Value of Belonging poster that highlights our accomplishments, buttons and bumper stickers to show union support, and professional learning options and benefits brochures that reinforce our day-to-day support for our members.
Place your order and spread the word: We’re working together to create a better life for all!
Contribute to the AFT Michigan PAC Today
AFT Michigan fights for our members, students, patients 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!
Pride Month Lessons & Resources
June is Pride Month—and an opportunity to reflect on how best to support students’ sense of belonging. Explore these classroom-ready resources that help students learn about LGBTQIA+ history, identities and contributions while building understanding and inclusion.
In solidarity,
Terrence Martin
President
