Detroit Federation of Teachers

Candidates Address DFT Membership

Candidates seeking political office came before members at the General Membership Meeting. This fall we heard from Jocelyn Benson, Garlin Gilchrist, and Abdul El Sayed. We expect others to attend.

Reading is Fun!

Jason Posey, Executive Vice President, takes time away from the office to read Santa in the City to a Montessori class at Palmer Park.

Literacy Month at Central HS

Kudos to the staff of Central High School for Literacy Month.

DFT Retirees Holiday Party

The DFT Retirees Chapter gathered at Golightly CTC for their annual Holiday Party. It was a festive time and lots of smiles at the event,

WHAT'S NEW: DFT Election Results

Here are the results of the DFT Election which were announced at the end of the March 2023 General Membership Meeting.

one (1) vacancy on Executive Board

Gavin Buckley 26
Stephen Conn 22
Rachele Green 39
Kwesi Matthews 4
Kimberly L. Mitchell 69

Kimberly L. Mitchell was declared the winner in this race. She will be sworn in at the April General Membership meeting.

three (3) positions on the Election Committee

Cheryl Constantino 21
Hope Gibson 42
Theodosia Gulley 21
Tamika Merchant 87
Jacqueline Robinson 93
Queen Watkins 102

The three members who were elected to the Election Committee are Queen Watkins, Jacqueline Robinson and Tamika Merchant. They will be sworn in at the April General Membership meeting.

WHAT'S NEW: Premiere of Rosa Parks Film

The DFT was proud to be a part of this special event: the film premiere at the Detroit Institute of Arts about the life of Rosa Parks. After the screening AFT National President, Randi Weingarten, was part of a special conversation moderated by the film’s executive producer Soledad O’Brien with Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Secretary of State, the film’s directors Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton, the book's author, Dr. Jeanne Theoharis and Lonnie McCauley, Rosa Parks’ grandnephew.

WHAT'S NEW: FILM PREMIERE IN DETROIT

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You are invited you to a celebration of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks on the anniversary of her birthday, Saturday, February 4th, 2023. Please join us for a screening of the first full-length documentary about the life and legacy of Rosa Parks, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. After the film, stay for a special conversation moderated by the film’s executive producer Soledad O’Brien with Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Secretary of State, Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, the film’s directors Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton, the book's author, Dr

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

December Union Meeting Location Changed

The December 12 DFT General Membership Meeting location has been changed. We will be meeting at the Horatio Williams Foundation, 1010 Antietam in Detroit. The meeting is still scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.

8/28/24 DFT ALERT

We have been made aware of an IT issue with our email system. We are currently unable to receive emails to our DFT inbox. We have reached out to our IT department and they will provide us with an answer soon. In the meantime, if you need to contact a DFT staff member please call on Thursday to our Office Assistant, Mae Winters at 313-875-3500. She will be available to take messages. We will update when the issue has been resolved.