There's been so much buzz about the NFL Draft in Detroit. But, we're proud of the impact we have made, by giving our community access to over 50,000 free, high-quality books to educators and families over the past few years.  

Thank you to everyone for coming out to Temple of Faith Baptist Church and/or the Hamtramck Community Center. For the Detroit event of Reading Opens the World, we gave away 10,000+ books, had a voter registration table, Author Ellen Morgan, Ed. D read her children's book Ellie's Formal Table, Poet Jessica Care Moore recited her poem I used to be a roller coaster girl, Marktoons Caricatures (Mark Barry)  drew for students, journals for students to write and illustrate their own books, goodie bags, popcorn, and to top it off, a visit by AFT National Secretary-Treasurer, Fedrick Ingram.

Our success is because of our DFT members who took the time to tell families about the event and came out themselves. The members volunteered many hours opening boxes, setting up the stations and working the event. We cannot compete with professional football but that doesn't stop us!  As member after member told us, "This was awesome!"

Enjoy your books!

We are so excited to announce that not one, but two, book giveaways from AFT National are on their way to us. One location is courtesy of the Detroit Federation of Teachers; the other is sponsored by the Hamtramck Federation of Teachers. It is going to be a morning filled with fun and festivities for everyone! Join us in Detroit on Saturday, April 27 from 9:00 a.m.--12 noon at the Temple of Faith Baptist Church (Activity Building) at 9351 Forrer Street in Detroit. Join us in Hamtramck on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. --2 p.m. at the Hamtramck Community Center, 11350 Charest Street.  It is first come, first serve. These 15,000+ books are going to go fast!

More great news: 

AFT National Secretary-Treasurer, Fedrick C. Ingram will be coming to both Detroit and Hamtramck to be a part of the day's events. What a great opportunity for our members to meet with him. We have invited members of our community to stop by so you'll never know who you will see here.

Be sure to mark Saturday, April 27 on your calendar and let's make sure our students get these high quality books that they need

Click here for the Detroit flyer in English:  Reading Opens the World (English)

Click here for the Detroit  flyer in Spanish:  Reading Opens the World (Spanish)

Click here for the Hamtramck flyer in English:  Reading Opens the World (Hamtramck English)

Click here for the Hamtramck flyer in Arabic:  Reading Opens the World (Hamtramck Arabic)

Click here for the Hamtramck flyer in Bengali:  Reading Opens the World (Hamtramck Bengali)

DFT members are engaging in Solidarity Events at their work locations. We have less than 100 days since our collective bargaining agreement expires.  Here is the calendar for April. Not only will we be showing solidarity across our union, we are also asking our members to continue to stand in solidarity with other "union shops" by providing a list of "Shop Union".

DFT unit members planning on retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 school year should complete all of the forms related to retirement by May 1, 2024.  These forms include:

1.  A Separation from Service Form (SFSF) found on the District's Hub.  Please remember that in order to be paid for sick days upon retirement from DPSCD, eligible employees must submit a SFSF to the District's Human Resource office (HR) no later than May 1, 2024 and retire effective July 1, 2024 (or August 1, 2024 if working during the month of July).  The SFSF should be emailed to HR by May 1, 2024.  (Follow the instructions on the Hub.)  The "effective date of separation" on the SFSF should be listed as June 15, 2024 (or July 31, 2024 if working during the month of July).  After the SFSF is submitted to HR, a confirmation email will be sent to the employee.  Employees should print a copy of that email for their records.

Eligible employees meeting the May 1, 2024 deadline will be paid $45 for each unused sick day in their sick bank for days 1 to 100 and $65 for each unused sick day in their sick bank for days 101 to 200 for a maximum payout of $11,000.  Payout for sick days upon retirement does not include a payout from the catastrophe bank.  (To calculate the number of sick days in one's sick bank, divide the number of sick bank hours by eight [8].)

2.  The pension application forms found on an employee's miAccount with the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (https://www.michigan.gov/orsschools).  (Click on the menu item "Ready to Retire", then the box that says, "Apply for Retirement", and then follow the instructions.  Use the same date for "the last day worked" as was used on the SFSF (June 15, 2024 or July 31, 2024).

3.  The application forms for Social Security (if eligible) and Medicare (if eligible) found on Social Security's website (ssa.gov).  (This website is separate and unrelated to the Michigan Office of Retirement Services' website and an employee's miAccount.)

Questions about retirement can be directed to the DFT's retirement counselor, Patrick Falcusan, at 313-875-6783 at any time during the year.

State Representative Regina Weiss is a former teacher with DPSCD. She is in her second term as a state lawmaker. Also attending will be former DFT President, Terrence Martin, who is now the President of AFT Michigan. Please register for the town hall at this link: https://txt.so/hgjMdy.

Join President Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins as part of a Women's HERstory program!