News

Smears vs. solutions

Randi Weingarten at a Massachusetts high school

Summer is upon us, and parents, children and teachers are winding down from what has been an exhausting and fully operational school year—the first since the devastating pandemic. The long-lasting impact of COVID-19 has affected our students’ and families’ well-being and ignited the politics surrounding public schools. All signs point to the coming school year unfolding with the same sound and fury, and if extremist culture warriors have their way, being even more divisive and stressful.

Randi Weingarten and NYC teacher Tamara Simpson

Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.

AFT President, Randi Weingarten, addressed the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. about the current state and the future of public education. You may watch her speech, delivered on March 28, 2023, In Defense of Public Education. She outlines four strategies can help transform our schools to realize the promise and purpose of public education.

Community Schools
Experiential Learning
Revive and Restore the Teaching Profession
Parents and Community as Partners

What unions do

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

Clarification on Paid Sick Days and Retirement for 2021

In order to be paid for sick days upon retirement at the end of this school year, eligible employees must submit a Separation from Service (SFS) form to the District's Human Resources Office no later than May 1, 2021 and retire effective July 1, 2021 (or August 1, 2021 if working during the month of July).

The SFS form is available on the District's Hub and must be emailed back to HR (hr.records@detroitk12.org) by May 1. The effective date of separation to be listed on the SFS form is June 30, 2021 (or July 31, 2021 if working during the month of July).

Eligible employees will be paid $45 for

Detroit Federation of Teachers Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Safety Strike

DETROIT – (August 19, 2020) During an emergency special meeting Wednesday, members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) voted to authorize a potential safety strike aimed at pressing the Detroit Public Schools Community District to implement basic science-based safety protocols before schools reopen during the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

The vote authorizes the DFT executive board to call a safety strike if the union and the school district do not reach an agreement. Members voted 91 percent in favor of authorizing a safety strike.

“Over the past few months our members have raised

Public Act 92 of 2017, which was signed into law today, discontinues the option to initiate a service credit purchase as of September 29, 2017. This change in the law has no other effect on your pension or retiree healthcare benefits, and it does not affect purchases you’ve already made or tax-deferred payment agreements you may already have in place.

If you’re planning a service credit purchase, full payment for the amount of service you wish to buy or a fully completed Tax-Deferred Payment (TDP) Agreement (R0392C) signed by both you and your employer must be received in our office by 5:00 p.m

2017 Election Committee Member Official Results

Detroit Federation of Teachers

2017 ELECTION OF ELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS

OFFICIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS

Jeffrey Wasilewski Elected to 2-Year Term
Crystal Lee Elected to 2-Year Term
Yolanda King Elected to 2-Year Term
Devette Brown Elected to 1-Year Term

DFT run-off election: Final results

The votes have been counted and the results for the office of president, vice president and recording secretary are posted. View the final counts here.

DFT passes resolution to pardon DACA immigrant youth

Read the resolution passed by the DFT on pardoning DACA immigrant youth and supporting the National Days of Action.

Resolution to Build the Movement Demand President Obama Take Action to Pardon DACA Immigrant Youth