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Dear MSU Fixed-Term Faculty Member:
Members of your union elected me as the first president of the Union of Nontenure Track Faculty (UNTF) at Michigan State University. I am honored to be serving all of us in this journey toward unity, strong collective bargaining and increases in job security. I want to personally welcome you to your union. UNTF represents all fixed-term (non-clinical) teaching faculty at Michigan State University. Under Michigan labor law, we are responsible for administering the collective bargaining agreement we signed with the University administration in May, 2010 relative to wages, benefits, and working conditions for approximately 500 fixed-term faculty teaching on the East Lansing campus every semester. |
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On April 18th, 2012, UNTF Members voted in favor of electing a slate of new Executive Board Members presented at the General Membership Meeting. Voting was then extended via internet to full members who were unable to attend the meeting. The results are in and the slate has been approved. |
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The AFL-CIO has launched its 2012 AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch site—now called CEO Pay and the 99%—which includes the most comprehensive data available on 2011 executive pay. All the data available is searchable by industry, by state and by the top 100 highest-paid CEOs.
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Today AFT Michigan has joined with labor and community groups to launch a petition drive to amend the Michigan Constitution to protect collective bargaining rights and strengthen working families. We are proud to be a part of this effort to be proactive in the face of the anti-worker measures coming out of Lansing. Petitions will be coming to your worksite, please sign. If you are able and willing to volunteer to collect signatures in your local or community please let us know. Protect your job, your benefits, and your voice! |
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Many studies over the years have documented the need for smoother transitions from prekindergarten to the elementary level. A new AFT report reinforces that conclusion—and does it in a manner that puts frontline voices at the heart of the dialogue.
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The citizens of Ohio took back their state with a historic vote on Nov. 8 to repeal Senate Bill 5. The vote, which marks the first time that the collective bargaining rights of public employees have been upheld on a statewide ballot, sends a clear signal that Ohioans will not sit idly by while politicians scapegoat hard-working public employees for an economic crisis they did not create.
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President Obama's bold plan—the American Jobs Act—is the right antidote to help solve our persistent economic problems, AFT president Randi Weingarten says.
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Two longtime union activists and education reformers are assuming new roles in AFT's leadership, AFT president Randi Weingarten announced on Sept. 9.
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Every day, educators and other public employees, and the services they provide our communities, are being attacked. From challenging collective bargaining rights, to undermining the quality of public education and higher education, to decimating pensions and trying to put healthcare coverage further out of reach, working men and women across the country are under assault. And if this has taught us one thing, it's that Elections Matter.
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Action Needed Today, Stop the Tax on Pensions!
The Senate Reforms Committee took substantial testimony today (5/10) on HB 4361, the tax bill that includes taxation of pensions on an age-related sliding scale. The committee is slated to meet again tomorrow morning and take a little more testimony before reporting the bill to the floor. We have been told that the Senate plans to vote on it on the Senate floor on Thursday, telling members to be prepared to stay all night. The Governor and the legislature are taxing the pensions of retirees, raising the taxes on low-income working families and cutting education in order to fund a tax cut for large corporations! This is not shared sacrifice! Please call your state senator today or tomorrow to urge a “NO” vote on this unfair shift of taxes to retirees. Click here to find your Senator’s phone number. A phone call is better, but you may also send an email by clicking here. Do it today! |
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In a March 28 speech sponsored by the Commonwealth Club, AFT president Randi Weingarten challenged those who have blamed public employees and their right to collectively bargain as a cause of their states' fiscal problems.
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AFT Members Will Stand Together for 'We Are One' Week of Action
Workers' fundamental rights are under attack in a growing number of states. But as we have seen in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere, those attacks have inspired and motivated tens of thousands of union members to stand together for their rights. The challenge now, as AFT president Randi Weingarten put it in a recent e-mail to more than 1.5 million AFT members and allies, is to take this moment and turn it into a movement. One step in that direction is a "We Are One" Week of Action, starting April 4, that will bring together members from the AFT and other unions, along with our allies, to participate in events around the country. First, take the pledge to help make a difference. Once you take the pledge, you'll see lots of ideas for how to join in the week of action.
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EFM Bills Pass House
Today, March 15, the House passed the last two bills required to finish the Emergency Financial Manager legislation. It now goes to the Governor and he has said he will sign the bills. The way to keep EFMs away from our school districts and local communities is to keep them out of financial trouble. We can’t do that given Governor Snyder’s proposed budget which includes cuts to schools, universities and local community Revenue Sharing. If you are able, we hope to see you in Lansing tomorrow for a budget protest rally at the State Capitol. If you can’t make it to Lansing, please call your State Representative or Senator, find out when they are having local events – coffee hours, town halls, etc. – and then attend with a few friends, or lots of friends. Local action, in person, with your Representatives and Senators is very effective. |
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AFT president Randi Weingarten on Feb. 24 proposed a new way to align teacher development and evaluation to due process for tenured teachers. Weingarten laid out a three-step process consisting of clear standards for what teachers should know and be able to do, a time-limited improvement and support plan for teachers deemed to be unsatisfactory according to the evaluation standards, and a hearing process that can take no longer than 100 days, which in many cases would be even more expedient.
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Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFT.