Due to the postponement of the February DFT General Membership Meeting, the Election Calendar has been revised for the upcoming election for the Election Committee and the vacancy on the Executive Board.

The Executive Board has approved the following date changes to the calendar. 

• Nominations close: Thursday, February 27, 2025 as the last order of business of the General Membership Meeting
• Eligible Candidates List: Monday, March 3, 2025
• Deadline for Filing Grievances: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
• Grievances Schedules: Thursday, March 6, 2025 at the DFT Office: 4:00 p.m. Election Committee hears grievances; 4:30 p.m. Executive Board hears grievances appeals from Election Committee

Please reach out to the Election Committee if you have any questions: dft231ec@gmail.com

Please tune in to Channel 4, WDIV, on Sunday, February 16 at 10:00 a.m. as President Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins joins host Jason Colthrop and other panelists as he hosts a roundtable on education on this week's episode of Flashpoint. The DFT was invited to give a teacher's perspective on issues such as test scores and Detroit school incentives.  

If you are not able to watch it live, the rebroadcast of the show will be uploaded to their website at https://www.clickondetroit.com/flashpoint/ or YouTube. The discussion is in the second half of the show.

It is time for the DFT to hold its annual election for the Election Committee. Nominations and acceptances for three (3) Election Committee Members and one (1) Executive Board Vacancy must be scanned and emailed to (dft231ec@gmail.com) by 5pm (EST) on February 13, 2025, or brought in person and delivered directly to the Election Committee at the February 13, 2025 General Membership Meeting. Nominations will be closed at the end of the General Membership meeting.

Here is the calendar for the Spring 2025 DFT Elections.

Here is the nomination form for the vacant Executive Board position.

Here is the nomination form for the Election Committee members.

There is much concern about the recent statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcing it would end a policy restricting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations such as hospitals and schools.  

We want to share some resources with our members that AFT National is providing as we deal with this uncertainty. We have also posted these resources in our January 2025 The Detroit Teacher. 

RESOURCES: https://www.aft.org/our-community/immigration

• Rights for Immigrant Students/English
• Rights for Immigrant Students/Spanish
• Deportation Defense Toolkit/English
• Deportation Defense Toolkit/Spanish
• Educators' Guide/English
• Know Your Rights Information for Students and Families/English
• Know Your Rights Information for Students and Families/Spanish
• 15 Things to Do to Protect Students/English
• Family Immigration Raid Emergency Plan/English
• Family Immigration Raid Emergency Plan/Spanish
• Share My Lesson Immigration Lesson Plans
• Colorín Colorado Serving and Supporting Immigrant Students

It was a victory, not only for educators across Michigan, but our own DFT members who were new hires after 2019. They have been able to get back the right to negotiate salary, along with all other bargaining unit members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers. We wish to express our thanks and appreciation to all union members, not just from our local, but across the state, for banding together to return the Educator Voice to us. 

 Please read this letter of agreement regarding stipends for coaches for the United Special Olympics.