President

1. Nicole Conaway--EON/BAMN
2. Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins--UTR

Vice President

1. Robin Jennings--UTR
2. Jason Posey--UTR
3. Ingrid Rivers--EON/BAMN
4. Marcus Walton--UTR

Recording Secretary

1. Elena Brantley-Phillips--UTR

Treasurer

1. Rodney Fresh--UTR

Executive Board

1. Lisa Card--UTR
2. Frank Donner--UTR
3. Samantha Hoskin--UTR
4. Yolanda King--UTR
5. Crystal Lee--UTR
6. Dwan McGrady--UTR
7. Kimberly L. Mitchell-UTR
8. Marva Needham-Fletcher--UTR
9. Sarah Niemi--UTR
10. Meredith Summer--Independent
11. Jeff Wasilewski--UTR
12. Everette Whitfield--UTR

Trustees

1. Cassandra Davis--UTR
2. Mark Duffy--UTR
3. Kimberly D. Mitchell--UTR

Political action is imperative for two reasons: To elect friends of public education (PK-12 and higher education) and to pass or defeat ballot proposals that affect education and our students, staff and members.

President and Vice President: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

US Senate: Elissa Slotkin

DPSCD School Board: Sherisse Butler, Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, Boyd White III

The DFT Candidate Screening Team has concluded its screening of all DPSCD School Board candidates who have requested endorsement by our union. After deliberation the team has selected three individuals who have stated they will stand with our union as a member of the school board. The three are Sherisse M. Butler, Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, and Boyd White III. There are 22 candidates who are seeking a seat on the school board.

DPSCD Millage: YES

The district is also seeking a millage renewal on this fall's ballot. We are endorsing a YES vote from our community. For more information on this millage, please refer to DPSCD Proposal S Information. This is part of the ballot language Detroiters will find on the ballot: This proposal would restore and increase the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be levied by the School District of the City of Detroit for general operating purposes by 6.00 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempt by law, which would allow the School District to continue to retire its debt obligations.

Here is some literature that has factual information about Proposal S.

• Fact Sheet Proposal S
• Talking Points About Proposal S

 Wayne RESA: YES

The Wayne County Regional Enhancement Millage provides important supplemental funding to our schools in addition to state funding. 100 percent of the funding is distributed equally per student to all 33 school districts and 90+ eligible public school academies in Wayne County. It includes strong accountability and transparency measures that are monitored to ensure it produces results for our students. If renewed, this millage will continue the less than 2-mill property tax each year for six years, beginning in 2028. This is not a tax increase. up for renewal in November: Wayne RESA Regional Enhancement Millage Information.

Local Races:  consult these sources

• https://aftmichigan.org/2024-endorsed-candidates/
• https://unionhall.aflcio.org/detroit
• https://miaflcio.vote/

On Thursday, October 17, 2024 the DFT hosted AFT National President, Randi Weingarten, and Executive Vice President, Evelyn DeJesus, to create a historic partnership and grant between the Biden-Harris administration and Micron to bring Microprocessing Pathways to DPSCD's Career and Technical Education. Several people, including Detroit Deputy Mayor, Todd Bettison, Deputy Superintendent, Alycia Meriweather, White House Domestic Policy Council, Neera Tanden, along with Weingarten and DeJesus, toured Southeastern High School as part of their visit to Detroit. After the tour of the high school, about 30 individuals were invited to the DFT offices for a roundtable discussion. More information can be found here: https://www.aft.org/microtechnology-education-and-aft. This grant, which has been piloted in New York, is now coming to southeast Michigan and Minnesota. Stay tuned for more information.

Use this link to find election information specific to Michigan: Vote 411 Michigan

Know Your Voting Rights! Go to https://www.michiganvoting.org/

Here is the calendar for the 2025-2027 biennial election of officers, executive board members and trustees: Click here to read the document.

1. Please complete the nomination form in its ENTIRETY in print.  Here is the Nomination Form. The nomination form is not to be altered in any way.
2. Once eligibility is determined by the DFT Office, each person who has submitted a nomination form will be notified as outlined in the Bylaws.
3. If you have a grievance regarding the election process as outlined in the Bylaws and would like to present to the Election Committee, you must send an email to dft231ec@gmail.com by 5:00 p.m., Monday, November 4, 2024. You will receive an emailed confirmation with instructions. Grievance procedures are in Article V, Election Procedures, Section 12.
4. The list of eligible candidates will be posted on October 31, 2024.

Please see Article V Elective Officers, Sections 1, 2 and 12 of the Bylaws in Key DFT Documents on DFT Website.

More information may be forthcoming from the DFT Election Committee.

Be on the lookout on the Take Action tab under the Actions and Events Menu bar in the red navigation bar up on top each week for volunteer opportunities for activists like you!

We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us the next two months, but like Michelle Obama told us: “If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we’ve got to pick ourselves up, throw water on our face, and what?—DO SOMETHING.”

We are riding high off the energy of the Convention. Let’s keep up the momentum—can you sign up today for a volunteer shift?

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