AFT Michigan Membership ALL CALL! Lobby with us for a FULLY Funded Budget!
Join AFT Michigan and MEA Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 10am, for a lobby day in support of passing a fully funded state budget. With the budget deadline looming, we need union members and supporters in Lansing to tell lawmakers to fund our schools, including critical programs like free school meals and mental health supports, higher education institutions, and Medicaid. We will meet at Central United Methodist Church, 215 N Capitol Ave, Lansing, MI 48933 to ensure our students, families and communities are Michigan’s top priority and every available dollar is supporting their success.
REGISTER HERE!
Ask Your Legislator to Pass a Fully Funded Budget NOW!
It’s critical that the Legislature and Governor agree on a 2025-26 state budget that provides adequate, equitable, stable funding for Michigan’s preK-12 schools, community colleges, universities and healthcare systems. Please email your state legislators today and tell them how important it is that we have a budget by October 1!
Email Your Legislators HERE
Come Rally with Randi for a Budget
AFT Michigan Union Building Institute – October 6-9
Are you a workplace leader looking to develop your union leadership skills? Wondering where to start when it comes to being a building representative, steward, or union member? Worksite leaders and members are invited to sign up for various virtual sessions designed to develop skills and build on existing knowledge and skills around core union capacities throughout the week of October 6. Sessions are focused on core areas of AFT Michigan’s Power Wheel and include the following:
Workplace Leader 101 – Monday, October 6, 2025
As a building representative or department steward you are a “mini-president” — the “face of the union” in your worksite. Members rely on you for communication about union events, updates, and actions. Members also turn to you for support with worksite issues. Join us to learn about and reflect on the core skills that make a strong union leader.
Contract Enforcement 101 – Tuesday, October 7, 2025
We work hard to win strong contracts, let’s make sure we enforce them! Knowing your contract and understanding the process of handling worksite issues can help members find solutions and build power. In this session, participants will define grievances and work their way through a case study to help demystify the process of contract enforcement.
Using Lists and Maps to Organize Your Workplace – Wednesday, October 8, 2025
All good organizing starts with a great list! Join us for an evening with AFT Michigan’s very own list-guy, Dan Kukuk, to learn how a well organized list can support your ability to reach out to colleagues about upcoming union events and issues. We’ll also spend some time discussing how elections play an important role in setting policies and conditions that impact educators, students, and communities with Political Coordinator, Jenell Mansfield. Come find out how lists and worksite conversations are crucial in moving members to action in upcoming 2024 elections!
The One-on-One Conversation – Thursday, October 9, 2025
Want to talk to your colleagues about issues in your workplace or invite them to the next union meeting, but not sure how to start? This training is for you! Come join our 90 minute session on 1:1 conversations that move your colleagues to action. Whether it’s asking a potential member to sign a union card, talking to an unsure member about an upcoming board meeting, or moving a busy colleague towards being more active in your union, this training will leave you feeling confident in your organizing conversation skills!
All sessions are over Zoom and begin at 5 PM. Register ataftmichigan.org/eventstoday!
Forgotten: The Murder at the Ford Rouge Plant –A Compelling Musical Play about Detroit Workers
The labor jazz opera “Forgotten: The Murder at the Ford Rouge Plant” will run at Detroit’s Marygrove Theatre October 10-12, sponsored by the Michigan Labor History Society.
High school students are free to attend the dress rehearsal on Thursday, October 9, at 8 p.m. at Marygrove. This is an opportunity for students to learn about the struggles of their grandparents and great-grandparents to build a strong labor movement in the 1930s that helped turn Detroit into a Union Town.
Regular performances will be on Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11, at 8 p.m., or on Sunday, October 12, at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com or MichiganLaborHistorySociety.com.
AFT Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Conference, October 10-12 in Detroit!
As the threats of fascism, authoritarianism and political violence intensify across the U.S., the urgency for action has never been clearer. In the face of book bans, anti-democratic policies, and attacks on historically marginalized communities, educators and unions must once again rise as democracy’s first responders.
The 2025 AFT Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Conference marks a critical turning point. With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, we recognize this moment as the first major national inflection point to turn the tide on policy, reclaim public institutions, and push back against the growing infrastructure of repression. This conference will equip AFT locals with the tools to meet that moment head-on—with strategy, solidarity, and a commitment to long-term power-building.
Participants will engage through three core training tracks that reflect the challenges and opportunities of this moment:
- Communications Training—Disrupting disinformation and reclaiming public narrative, by use of social media tools
- Political Training—Advancing democracy at the ballot box and building durable civic power
- MOVE (Mobilize. Organize. Vote. Empower.) Training—for grassroots resistance, cross-sector coalition-building, and union-based movement work
Click here to register for the 2025 AFT Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Conference.
Scholarships are available – contact mmukherjee@aftmichigan.org if you’re interested.
‘No Kings Day’ – Saturday, Oct. 18
As the Trump administration escalates its attacks on our rights, including our basic civil rights and our rights to vote and to govern ourselves, millions are rising up again to say: “No Kings.” On Saturday, Oct. 18, the growing No Kings movement will take to the streets once more to demand dignity, defend our communities and reject authoritarianism in all its forms.
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
