Here are some ways you can help our union members, from the DFT and other locals, who are facing job layoffs and reassignments. These ideas were discussed at the April General Membership Meeting and members agreed we need to make our voices heard.
1. Show up at the School Board Meeting tomorrow night. As you may know, some of our DFT members have already received layoff notices. An injury to one is an injury to all. The College Transition Advisors were not even told this was a possibility at their engagement meeting with Dr. Vitti. Imagine how they felt when they were blindslided with a pink slip last Wednesday evening. They had been told they would receive assistance in being moved to other positions, not lose their job, their livelihood.
Wear the red DFT shirt to tomorrow's meeting. (If you don't have this DFT shirt, wear red. We will have some union shirts available at the board meeting.) Encourage staff at your building to show up for the board meeting, too. The "wear red for ed" will send a strong message to the school board and the community that we are serious about doing what is best for students.
2. Sign up for public comment at the board meeting (whether virtual or in person). Let the community know that just because these jobs are under consideration for elimination, it does not mean the work they do will stop. Who is the burden going to fall on if we lose attendance agents, college transition advisors, deans of cultures, parapros? It will fall on you, no matter what job classification you hold within the DFT.
3. Blast the school board members with emails this week! Personalize the emails by sending a photograph of you, a DFT member, standing beside someone who is being threatened with the loss of their job. We need our college transition advisors! We need our deans of cultures! We need our attendance agents! We need our paraprofessionals! If you need help in crafting an email, use the template we have provided. You can edit the email if you would like. Send the same email to each school board member.
Subject: Urgent - Saving Ancillary Staff Jobs
Dear _______________________________________(insert school board member's name here),
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to you today, as a DFT member, to urge you to consider the importance of our ancillary staff members and to advocate for their continued employment.
Why I value our _______(insert title of the person in the photograph) is because they are part of the backbone of our school. They provide invaluable support to our teachers, administrators, and students, and their contributions to our school are immeasurable. Our ancillary staff members are integral to our mission of providing a quality education to every student by ensuring that our students receive the support they need to succeed. From calling and making home visits to parents of students with high absenteeism, small group instruction and interventions, assisting with financial aid and college scholarship applications to restorative practices and much, much more. Our support staff brothers, sisters and siblings are priceless!
Removing _________ (insert name and title of person in photograph) will have a direct impact on my students because ___________________________________________. My students will suffer dramatically. This is why the work of the ________________________(insert title of person in photograph) is imperative to our school!
We simply cannot afford to lose the talent and expertise of our ancillary staff members. I urge you to consider the impact that their loss would have on our school community. The work of these individuals will still need to be done and that means more burden and more stress for classroom teachers to undertake.
I understand that difficult decisions must be made, but I hope that you will join me in advocating for our ancillary staff members and finding creative solutions to keep them employed. Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Your name, work location
Individual school board members email addresses:
- Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, President
angelique.peterson-mayberry@detroitk12.org
- Misha Stallworth, Vice President
misha.stallworth@detroitk12.org
sonya.mays@detroitk12.org
- Dr. Iris Taylor, Secretary
iris.taylor@detroitk12.org
sherry.gay-dagnogo@detroitk12.org
latrice.mcclendon@detroitk12.org
- Bishop Corletta J. Vaughn
corletta.vaughn@detroitk12.org
