Here are just a few of the highlights from the 2026 AFT National Convention held last week in Washington D.C. There was a group of 30 union members representing the DFT, including elected delegates and the leadership team.

• Randi Weingarten's State of the Union Address:  Building Our Power to Create a Better Future. Note: if you scroll down this page to member reactions, number 5, you will hear from President Wilson-Lumpkins.
• Sister Lakia addressed the delegates about why voting matters:  Why All Elections Matter. (Runs 2:12)
• Two new initiatives will expand the union’s Fight for Affordability campaign. The AFT is partnering with financial educator Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche on a series of videos about building a strong financial foundation and also with Protect Borrowers on One Big Bill, a campaign to highlight how much student loan payments are increasing because of President Trump’s July 2025 One Big Ugly Bill.
• AFT delegates passed 17 resolutions from six committees:

From the Organizing and Collective Bargaining Committee came resolutions to build worker power; to fight government weaponization of teacher salaries; and to strengthen collective bargaining rights for federal sector employees.

From the Labor and the Economy Committee came resolutions that shows artificial intelligence serves the common good; to fight for affordability and financial security; and to declare May 1 a Day of Civic Action.

From the Human Rights Committee came resolutions that affirm the AFT’s solidarity with immigrant communities; support of the LGBTQIA+ community; and honor the life of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.

From the International Relations Committee came resolutions that call for an immediate end to the war with Iran and Lebanon and an investigation into U.S. noncompliance with child labor laws.

From the Higher Education Committee came resolutions that center building pre-contract union locals; creating due process contract language for contingent faculty; and restoring public funding to minority-serving institutions.

From the Schools and Colleges Support Staff Issues Committee came resolutions that call for supporting paraprofessionals and school-related personnel by fighting for universal wage bargaining, a national PSRP week, and strong legislation and collective bargaining agreements.

We are pleased to announce that Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins has been elected as one of 43 national vice presidents to the union's executive council. She will serve alongside two other Michigan union leaders: Terrence Martin, president of AFT Michigan, and Eric Rader, president of the Henry Ford Community College Federation of Teachers. At the AFT’s 2026 convention, delegates re-elected Randi Weingarten as president, Fedrick C. Ingram as secretary-treasurer and Evelyn DeJesus as executive vice president. The AFT represents more than 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

Congratulations to all!

At the July 14, 2026 meeting of the DPSCD Board of Education, school board members unanimously approved the 2026-2028 Detroit Federation of Teachers Tentative Agreement. This is the final step of the collective bargaining agreement process.

Here is the ratified CBA: 2026-2028 DFT Collective Bargaining Agreement.  This document is posted to the key DFT documents tab under the Membership menu

The letters of agreements:

• Lead Teacher (Teacher Leader)  pages 33-36
• Training and Support Coordinators (TSC)  page 37
• Class Size Overage Supplemental Pay pages 38-40
• Five-Day GSRP / Pre-K Schedule  pages 41-48
• Ancillary Staff Overage pages 49-50
• ESL/Bilingual Retention Bonus pages 51-52
• School Point of Contact pages 53-55
• Bilingual interpreter pages 56-57

Here are the calendars for the next two years:
 

• 2026-2027 Calendar
• 2027-2028 Calendar

Here are the endorsements for the August 2026 Michigan Primary from our statewide federation and the Michigan AFL-CIO. The DFT supports candidates who advocate for public education and are pro-labor.

AFT Michigan List of Candidates
Michigan AFL-CIO List of Candidates

We encourage you to cast a ballot for the primary so we can elect folks who stand with us.

Absentee ballots have gone out and we want to make you aware of a couple of resources:

Information Source for Upcoming 2026 Primary Election in Michigan
Michigan Voter Information Center
 

The DFT Office will be closed on Friday, July 3rd in observance of Independence Day.

Because of the AFT National Convention, the DFT Office will also be closed the week of July 13th, 2026.

We are pleased to announce the ratification of the tentative agreement. The final results of the vote are YES  1751 (80%)   NO  440 (20%).        

The next step in the process is to have the DPSCD School Board agree to accept the results of the vote. This is planned for the July 14th regular school board meeting. Once the school board has agreed to this, then we will publish the tentative agreement to our website, under key documents.