UM Staff Rally & March – May 13, 12-1pm at Ingalls Mall
Last month, a member of University Staff United (USU), AFT Local 284, was fired from her job at UM-Ann Arbor for exercising her free speech rights during a protest 6 months priorto being hired at UM. Despite their legal obligation, University management has refused to bargain with USU over this and other individual cases of discipline, changes to remote work policies, and other changes to our working conditions.
Sign this open letter to show your support for protecting our labor rights. Then join USU members and colleagues, as well as union members from across the University, for a rally at Ingalls Mall on May 13, from 12-1pm to demonstrate our commitment to the bargaining process. RSVP here: tinyurl.com/DemandtoBargainMarch
Higher Education Budget Lobby Day – May 14
Join us in Lansing on May 14. The day will run from 10am-3pm with lunch provided.
We will meet at the Michigan AFL-CIO office around 10am to go over the schedule and training for conversations with legislators. You will be split up into teams and be assigned Michigan Representatives and Senators to meet with (or their staff). Additionally we will attend committee hearings, House and/or Senate sessions.
AFT Michigan members are asking for our state government to adequately fund our higher education institutions, defend immigrant students and workers, and stand up in the face of attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion. We need members like you to make the case that our students, institutions and communities are worth the investment.
Join the Michigan Nurses’ Association Capitol Action Day – May 15
Healthcare members! The Michigan Nurses’ Association has invited us to join them in Lansing on Thursday, May 15, 2025, from 8 a.m. to approximately 3 p.m. for the 2025 MNA Capitol Action Day!
At MNA’s Capitol Action Day in Lansing, you will:
- Learn and practice legislative advocacy skills with your peers
- Get tips and insight from legislators
- Take a group photo on the Capitol steps
- Participate in lunch on the Capitol lawn and meetings with elected officials
Continental breakfast, lunch, a T-shirt and 1 contact hour will be provided. The registration deadline is May 2.
If you have any questions, please contact Caleigh Hunt at caleigh.hunt@minurses.org
REGISTER HERE!Please select “Bargaining Unit or associate member – free”.
Justice Leaders Collaborative Social Justice Primer – May 28 at 5:30 PM
Join us on May 28, from 5:30-7:30pm, for JLC’s Social Justice Primer! AFT Michigan has been working with the Justice Leaders Collaborative to provide members with the opportunity to learn more about issues of equity, inclusion and social justice. Leaders and members committed to developing their knowledge and skills around social justice issues have gone on to continue building strong, inclusive, and equitable unions across our state. The Social Justice Primer is a brief introduction to key social justice theories and concepts including:
- Social identities such as race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability
- Privilege and oppression
- The four levels at which privilege, oppression, and change manifest
- Implicit bias
- Microaggressions
The workshop ends with concrete ideas for how you can show up in more inclusive and socially just ways in your life and work. Register at www.aftmichigan.org/union-building-events today! Please reach out to Meenakshi Mukherjee (mmukherjee@aftmichigan.org) with any questions.
AFT Michigan is Hiring
AFT Michigan is seeking an experienced and energized person to join our dynamic statewide union of educators and healthcare providers as our Healthcare Constituency Coordinator. This position will be one of three focused on our main membership constituencies: Healthcare, Higher Education, and PreK-12 Education. Our team works with approximately 100 local unions across the state to build strong locals, develop leadership, bargain and enforce contracts, organize, and work for social justice. AFT is one of the fastest-growing unions in the country and our Healthcare division is rapidly expanding. AFT Michigan represents more than 7,000 Allied Health professionals, Physician Assistants, and Resident Physicians in facilities across the state. For more information, see the full posting on our website.
Join the Transportation Riders United
There is no shortage of good causes to support these days, but public transit is one cause that supports them all! Reliable, affordable transit helps people to access fresh food, healthcare, jobs, educational opportunities; all while fighting climate change, all kinds of injustice, helping families make ends meet and spurring economic development. That’s why AFT Michigan joined the Friends of Transit Network convened by Transportation Riders United (TRU). TRU is the region’s leading transit advocate, with over 25 years of experience educating, mobilizing, advocating for more and better transit.
You can join TRU as well. Student and income-limited memberships are only $5 and regular memberships are $25. Here’s what the TRU Community is working on next:
- TRU is advocating to fix the 50% cut to state bus operating funds for Michigan’s 80 transportation agencies.
- TRU is advocating to expand transit throughout all of Wayne County.
- TRU is promoting and teaching how to use transit as an affordable alternative to high car ownership costs.
Young Worker Conference – June 26-28, Somerset Inn Troy, MI
Taught by young union activists you only need be young at heart to attend this energizing conference. Workshop options run a wide variety from leadership skills to personal finance 201 to workplace mental health to union basics and parliamentary procedure.
Click here for more information and to register
Maternal Health Issues & Disparities – Special Zoom Event
Why does our state and nation have such disparities when it comes to mortality and health among mothers? What can we do about it? Join the conversation on May 17, at 10am with five experts and activists from diverse backgrounds around issues of maternal health.
Click here to register for the zoom link and to download the flyer.
Worker Pride Conference – Special Single-Day Format
The Workers’ Pride Conference invites all union and non-union workers and activists from allied organizations to share ideas and grow skills for responding to the challenges facing working people. The conference draws instructors, facilitators, and coordinators from the LGBTQ+ community. We welcome participants from all genders and all cultural or ethnic backgrounds.
Click here for more information on the six workshop options and to register.
Help Celebrate the Reuther Library 50th Anniversary
Since May 23, 1975, the Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor & Urban Affairs‘ building has served researchers, fostered archivists, and housed incredible records. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary, please share memories through photos, short videos or written out! Submissions can be made here: bit.ly/reuther50
Upcoming Professional Development Workshop
AFT Michigan
Promoting Compassion and Academic Growth Prek-14
Saturday, June 7, 2025
8:30am – 4:00pm
2662 E. Jefferson
Detroit, MI 48207
This in-service is designed to support educators and learners to develop strategies to reduce stress,enhance professional/personal growth and student achievement, through research-based techniques.
Participants will receive 6 SCECHs after completion of the workshop.
Click here to register
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!
In solidarity,
Terrence Martin
President
