Take Action

The MEJC  will be hosting their annual Lobby Day on April 29, from 9am – 4pm with breakfast, lunch and snacks provided.

We will meet at the Central United Methodist Church, located at 215 N Capitol Ave, in Lansing, around 9:00 a.m. to go over the schedule for the day. Everyone will be split up into teams and will be assigned to meet with state representatives and senators or their staff.  We will debrief afterwards and participants should plan to finish at 4:00 p.m.

MEJC and its community partners are asking for the state government to adequately fund our schools and make key investments in 31 at-risk funds, special education, student mental health, school facilities and English Language Learners. Find someone--a parent, caregiver, student, a community member, a fellow educator to go with you--to make the case that our students are worth the investment.

We’ll create teams to attend meetings with elected and committee hearings. Each team will have a team lead – you  can sign up to be a team lead and we will provide training. The focus of the conversations with our elected leaders and their staff will be around the need for increased funding for our schools to ensure that ALL of our kids have what they need and that school staff can best support ALL of our kids!

Register here! Please make sure to note you are an DFT member in the access needs box.

✍️ ✍️ ✍️ Reminder, please use a personal business day if you plan to attend this event.

You are also invited to attend a virtual meeting, Advocacy Day Prep, on Wednesday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m. to learn about why we're going to Lansing, review our budget asks, have any questions you have answered, and get comfortable before joining us in person at the Capitol!

Register here for Advocacy Day Prep.

Here is an opportunity to help the Michigan Education Justice Coalition (MEJC), a community partner with DFT, organize for fully funding public schools and making sure our government - local, state, and federal - works for the people. There is a training, a virtual event, on Thursday, April 17 @ 6:30 p.m. which is particularly important right now - Special Education Funding. The federal Department of Education distributes IDEA Act funds for special education students. What will happen to those students now that the Ed Department may be going away? Register here for Special Education Funding and Updates.

Join 482forward (a DFT community partner) and others for a Virtual Tax Day Teach In, Tuesday, April 15th from 6-7:30 p.m. We'll be in conversation with Dr. Vitti, Economist and MSU Professor Dr. David Arsen, and others discussing how taxes impact school funding!

We will learn more about the tax breaks that funnel money away from our schools and neighborhoods and into the pockets of the rich! We'll also have a chance to have in-depth conversations about specific topics like national funding cuts & implications for DPSCD; school funding; corporate handouts that harm our communities and more!

Register here.

• Sign Up for Red for Ed Walks: the schedule lists the following locations: Auburn Hills, downriver, Hamtramck, Macomb, Belleville, Ann Arbor, Taylor, Detroit, Dearborn. Sign up here: https://aftmichigan.org/red-for-ed-walks/. You can also RSVP through this QR.

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• Phone Banking Dates are in Eastpointe on October 16 12:30-2:30 p.m. at https://www.mobilize.us/aflcio/event/702777/ and October 30 in Taylor and Detroit 5:00-7:00 p.m. at https://www.mobilize.us/aflcio/event/702779/

• Tomorrow @ 8:15 p.m. Virtual Watch Party for Vice President Debate ​
• Join AFT Activist
• ​​Red for Ed Walks in Taylor, Saturdays @ 10 a.m.: October 5, October 19, November 2
• Red for Ed Walks in Hamtramck, Saturdays @ 10 a.m.: October 12, October 26, November 2​
• any day through October 18: Phone Banking Highest Priority​
• Red for Ed Walk in Detroit, Saturdays @ 10 a.m.: October 19, October 26, November 2

• Join AFT Activist: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/join-aft-activist?source=aftvotes

  
  

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• Any day: DIY Battleground State Phone Bank on Your Own Time!
• Sept. 17: National Voter Registration Day PHONE Bank. Sign up for special voter registration phone banks.
• Sept. 17: National Voter Registration Day TEXT Bank. Sign up for special voter registration text banks.
• Sept. 18: AFT Voter Persuasion Phone Bank in Battleground States at 5 p.m. EDT
• Sept. 19: Virtual Postcard Parties at 7 p.m. EDT

We are also excited to announce that we have AFT Votes postcards! To request an AFT Postcard Packet, fill out the form here.

Share this graphic now, and let’s keep marching toward Election Day!

• AFL-CIO Union Women Get It Done Virtual Summit Oct. 1, 7 p.m. ET

RSVP Here
 

Union women have never been more important than we are right now in mobilizing for the Nov. 5 election. That’s why we’re inviting you to join us on Oct. 1 as we host a nationwide virtual event, where union women from across our movement will hear from each other, speak their truth and affirm that this fight unites us rather than divides us.  As we head into the final weeks of the election, we will come together to discuss what’s at stake and the crucial role that women will play in our struggle for victory in November and drive home the importance of Vice President Kamala Harris’ election to the White House. Please mark your calendar, invite your friends—and don’t miss it!  

Get Out The Vote! The governor and lt. governor have designated this week, ahead of absentee ballots being mailed out, as Voter Preregistration Week. Click here for details.