78th AFT Michigan Convention
We had a great Convention Saturday at Huntington Place in Detroit. With nearly 200 delegates and guests in attendance, we:
- Elected officers for the next two years;
- Discussed many important resolutions;
- Amended our Constitution;
- Recognized the contributions of many great activists with awards; and
- Celebrated all of our organizing and political victories since our last Convention!
Thank you for re-electing me as President, Kirsten Herold (UM-LEO 6244) as Secretary-Treasurer, and the rest of our Administrative Board.
As I told the delegates, our union has grown by almost 7,000 members since our last convention, and is evolving as we welcome new members, particularly healthcare professionals and tenure-track faculty. As we welcome more and more healthcare workers into our union, I’m observing more and more linkages between education and healthcare – caring professions made up of majority-women workforces, and what we bargain for directly benefits our patients and students.
UM-Flint will be better, now that the tenure-track faculty have organized; Michigan Medicine will be better, now that thousands of healthcare professionals have organized; Glen Lake and Lincoln Consolidated Schools will be better, now that the support staff have organized; DMC, Wayne State Med School, and Western’s med school will be better now that the resident physicians have organized; the Michigan School of Psychology will be better, now that the full and part-time faculty have organized (and we look forward to announcing more and more organizing victories in the months to come).
As delegates heard from our guest Laura Dickerson, Director of UAW Region 1A, our collective mission needs to be building strong local unions that win for our members and inspire more non-union workers to organize. Having a strong AFT Michigan and strong AFL-CIO is crucial to welcome everyone into the labor movement.
Building strong unions means developing new leaders, winning in the legislature and at the ballot box, and helping members connect the dots – our fight is bigger than us, and it’s going to take more than just us to be successful in achieving our long-term goals.
I’m proud to lead this great union and I can’t wait to see how much we grow and accomplish together over the next two years. Thank you.
Help a Fellow AFT Member by Completing this Survey
Christine Oldenburg-McGee is not only a physician assistant at Michigan Medicine, President of UPAMM 5297, and a newly-elected member of the AFT Michigan Ad Board, she is also completing a PhD in Education at UM. Christine’s dissertation focuses on health misinformation found on social media during the COVID pandemic and would really like to get broad participation from AFT Michigan members.
To learn more about Christine’s study, go to: https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/health-misinformation?usp=sharing
To go directly to the survey, click: https://umich.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_42CaFSwggCCgg86
Coalition for Secure Retirement Day at the Capitol – May 22
The Coalition for Secure Retirement, of which AFT Michigan is a charter member, is holding a Lobby Day in Lansing May 22 to advocate for rebuilding our public employee pension system.
2024 Great Lakes Union Leadership Institute – June 23-27
The 2024 AFT Great Lakes Union Leadership Institute, which will be held June 23-27 at Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wis., is a four-day training and leadership development program. The courses are designed to enhance local capacity for all AFT constituency groups. The purpose of the program is to provide hands-on learning of union skills, to further acquaint you with the AFT and our issues, and to give you a chance to exchange information with your union siblings in a relaxed, casual setting with wonderful resort amenities. The program is open to any AFT member but is designed with the needs of the Great Lakes Region in mind. AFT Michigan offers a limited number of need-based scholarships – if you’re interested, please have your local president reach out to Meenakshi Mukherjee at mmukherjee@aftmichigan.org.
For more information and to enroll: https://c762f3cd-45f3-45ff-afbc-9ed8df287a9b.usrfiles.com/ugd/c762f3_0961e7d1030643869011579ccaf127c9.pdf
AFT Michigan Professional Development
Communication and Culture in the Learning Environment
Saturday, May 18, 2024
David Hecker Building
8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m.
6 SCECHs
This in-service will explore how communication serves purposes greater than the transmission of information. It will also provide opportunities for participants to develop strategies to promote cultural awareness and academic growth among learners.
Click here to register
Cultural Congruity in Education and Learning
Saturday, June 1, 2024
David Hecker Building
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
6 SCECHs
This in-service will investigate different teaching styles to build bridges among various student cultures in the learning environment, to enhance culturally responsive teaching and instructional effectiveness.
Click here to register
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!
In solidarity,
Terrence Martin
President
